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.
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.
Definitions in isolation do not stick. Sit a free, full-length GRE mock and meet this vocabulary inside real text completion and sentence equivalence questions, with your score and a worked solution for every answer.