Ambivalency
uncertainty or fluctuation, especially when caused by inability to make a choice or by a simultaneous desire to say or do two opposite or conflicting things.
psychology. the coexistence within an individual of positive and negative feelings toward the same person, object, or action, simultaneously drawing him or her in opposite directions.
historical examples
what is characteristic of the diseased mind is not ambivalency but resistance.
collected papers on -n-lytical psychology c. g. jung
once admit this, and the primary importance of ambivalency disappears so far as negativism is concerned.
collected papers on -n-lytical psychology c. g. jung
(g) s-xuality with its ambivalency on the emotional plane is often one of the roots of negative reaction.
collected papers on -n-lytical psychology c. g. jung
noun
the simultaneous existence of two opposed and conflicting att-tudes, emotions, etc
n.
“simultaneous conflicting feelings,” 1924 (1912 as ambivalency), from german ambivalenz, coined 1910 by swiss psychologist eugen bleuler (1857-1939) on model of german equivalenz “equivalence,” etc., from latin ambi- “both” (see ambi-) + valentia “strength,” from present participle of valere “be strong” (see valiant). a psychological term that by 1929 had taken on a broader literary and general sense.
ambivalence am·biv·a·lence (ām-bĭv’ə-ləns)
n.
the coexistence of opposing att-tudes or feelings toward a person, an object, or an idea.
am·biv’a·lent adj.
Read Also:
- Ambivalently
having mixed feelings about someone or something; being unable to choose between two (usually opposing) courses of action: the whole family was ambivalent about the move to the suburbs. she is regarded as a morally ambivalent character in the play. psychology. of or relating to the coexistence within an individual of positive and negative feelings […]
- Ambiversion
a state intermediate between extroversion and introversion. ambiversion am·bi·ver·sion (ām’bĭ-vûr’zhən, -shən) n. a personality trait including the qualities of both introversion and extroversion.
- Ambled
to go at a slow, easy pace; stroll; saunter: he ambled around the town. (of a horse) to go at a slow pace with the legs moving in lateral pairs and usually having a four-beat rhythm. an ambling gait. a slow, easy walk or gentle pace. a stroll. contemporary examples he ambled into the main […]
- Ambler's
eric, 1909–1998, english suspense novelist. to go at a slow, easy pace; stroll; saunter: he ambled around the town. (of a horse) to go at a slow pace with the legs moving in lateral pairs and usually having a four-beat rhythm. an ambling gait. a slow, easy walk or gentle pace. a stroll. verb (intransitive) […]
- Ambling
to go at a slow, easy pace; stroll; saunter: he ambled around the town. (of a horse) to go at a slow pace with the legs moving in lateral pairs and usually having a four-beat rhythm. an ambling gait. a slow, easy walk or gentle pace. a stroll. contemporary examples ambling behind him is a […]