All 6 Uses of
ambiguous
in
The Remains of the Day
- Naturally, I felt the temptation to deny immediately and unambiguously such motivations as my employer was imputing to me, but saw in time that to do so could be to rise to Mr Farraday's bait, and the situation would only become increasingly embarrassing.†
Chpt Prol.unambiguously = in a manner that is clear (not open to multiple interpretations)standard prefix: The prefix "un-" in unambiguously means not and reverses the meaning of ambiguously. This is the same pattern you see in words like unhappy, unknown, and unlucky.
- And I followed this with a suitably modest smile to indicate without ambiguity that I had made a witticism, since I did not wish Mr Farraday to restrain any spontaneous mirth he felt out of a misplaced respectfulness.†
Chpt Prol. *ambiguity = lack of clarity -- unclear because there could be two or more interpretations
- Not so long ago, if any such points of ambiguity arose regarding one's duties, one had the comfort of knowing that before long some fellow professional whose opinion one respected would be accompanying their employer to the house, and there would be ample opportunity to discuss the matter.†
Chpt Prol.
- The letter does not make specific the details of the matter, as one would hardly expect it to do, but Miss Kenton states unambiguously that she has now, in fact, taken the step of moving out of Mr Benn's house in Helston and is presently lodging with an acquaintance in the nearby village of Little Compton.†
Chpt 2m -unambiguously = in a manner that is clear (not open to multiple interpretations)standard prefix: The prefix "un-" in unambiguously means not and reverses the meaning of ambiguously. This is the same pattern you see in words like unhappy, unknown, and unlucky.
- But the very fact that the French were the most intransigent as regards releasing Germany from the cruelties of the Versailles treaty made all the more imperative the need to bring to the gathering at Darlington Hall at least one French gentleman with unambiguous influence over his country's foreign policy.†
Chpt 2m -unambiguous = clear (not open to multiple interpretations)standard prefix: The prefix "un-" in unambiguous means not and reverses the meaning of ambiguous. This is the same pattern you see in words like unhappy, unknown, and unlucky.
- Of course, one has to remember there is nothing stated specifically in Miss Kenton's letter — which, incidentally, I reread last night up in my room before putting out the light — to indicate unambiguously her desire to return to her former position.†
Chpt 3m -unambiguously = in a manner that is clear (not open to multiple interpretations)standard prefix: The prefix "un-" in unambiguously means not and reverses the meaning of ambiguously. This is the same pattern you see in words like unhappy, unknown, and unlucky.
Definitions:
-
(1)
(ambiguous) unclear -- because there could be two or more interpretations
-
(2)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) meaning too rare to warrant focus:
More rarely, ambiguous can mean uncertain or doubtful -- as in the expression "an ambiguous smile".