Thread: ambivalence
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Old Jul 16, 2008, 10:56 AM
kim_johnson's Avatar
kim_johnson kim_johnson is offline
Poohbah
 
Member Since: May 2008
Posts: 1,225
Main Entry:
am·biv·a·lence
yeah... it is often used as 'undecided'. my memory of it comes from 'girl interrupted' where the main character described herself as being 'ambivalent' thinking it meant she didn't really care either way. her psychiatrist thought that 'ambivalent' suited her perfectly - but showed her from a dictionary that rather than implying that one doesn't really care either way it implies that one is caught or torn somehow. miriam webster seems to have both sorts of implications:

Pronunciation:
\am-ˈbi-və-lən(t)s\
Function:
noun
Etymology:
International Scientific Vocabulary
Date:
1918
1: simultaneous and contradictory attitudes or feelings (as attraction and repulsion) toward an object, person, or action
2 a: continual fluctuation (as between one thing and its opposite) b: uncertainty as to which approach to follow