equivocal means having two or more equally applicable meanings; capable of double or multiple interpretation. It carries an Arena rating of 1630, earned across 3 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, equivocal ranks #478 of 17,135 for Most Malleable Words, #884 of 17,138 for Most Incisive Words, #2,629 of 17,126 for Most Elegant Words, #3,407 of 17,126 for Most Satisfying to Say.
equivocal is pronounced /əˈkwɪvəkəl/.
Why “equivocal” is a great word
Having two or more equally applicable meanings, making it ambiguous or uncertain. From Late Latin aequivocus ("of identical sound, ambiguous"), from Latin aequus ("equal") + vocō ("I call"), first recorded in English c. 1600. Unlike "unambiguous," which shines a single, clarifying light, or "cryptic," which guards a singular, secret truth, the equivocal exists in a state of perpetual hesitation. It is the diplomat's crafted statement that soothes two opposing factions, the oracle's pronouncement that foretells both triumph and disaster, the fog-shrouded fork in a path where each signpost seems equally plausible—a quiet admission that meaning is often a choice, not a given.
Etymology
From Late Latin aequivocus + -al, from aequus + vocō. By surface analysis, equi- + vocal.
adj
- Having two or more equally applicable meanings; capable of double or multiple interpretation.e.g.“equivocal words”
- Capable of being ascribed to different motives, or of signifying opposite feelings, purposes, or characters; deserving to be suspected.e.g.“His actions are equivocal.”
- Uncertain, as an indication or sign.e.g.“How equivocal a test.” — 1796, Edmund Burke, A Letter from the Right Honourable Edmund Burke to a Noble Lord, on the Attacks Made upon Him and His Pension, […], London: […] J. Owen, […], and F[rancis] and C[harles] Rivington,
noun
- A word or expression capable of different meanings; an ambiguous term.e.g.“Some equivocals are merely ambiguous. Sharp is an example. It is equivocal since it is appropriate to call different types of things 'sharp' though what it is for them to be sharp differs.” — 2012, Deborah Achtenberg, Cognition of Value in Aristotle's Ethics:
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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