ambivalent
having mixed or contradictory feelings about something
Word origin: From Latin ambi- both plus valentia strength.
Ambivalent in a sentence
Here are example sentences showing ambivalent in a sentence.
She felt ambivalent about the promotion, eager yet anxious about the workload.
She remained ambivalent about the promotion, drawn to its prestige yet wary of its demands.
Quick GRE check
3 questions, about 2 minutes. How would you do on the real test?
Verbal · Text Completion
The committee's report was praised for its candor, yet its central recommendation was so blank that administrators could cite it to justify nearly any policy they had already resolved to pursue.
Using “ambivalent” well
Ambivalent describes holding conflicting feelings about the same thing at once. Do not confuse it with ambiguous, which describes unclear meaning, not divided emotion.
More GRE words starting with A
to lower in rank, dignity, or self-respect
to make someone feel embarrassed or ashamed
to lessen in intensity or amount
to formally give up power or responsibility
departing from what is normal or expected
a departure from what is normal, usual, or expected
a state of temporary suspension or inactivity
to regard with strong disgust or hatred
Questions about “ambivalent”
See these words the way the GRE tests them.
Take the free 39-minute GRE Quick Mock Test and meet words like this inside real Text Completion and Sentence Equivalence questions, with a worked solution for every answer.