ambivalence
/æmˈbɪvələns/noun
ambivalence is spelled A-M-B-I-V-A-L-E-N-C-E: 11 letters and 4 syllables. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 36,998th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, ambivalence means “The coexistence of opposing attitudes or feelings (such as love and hate) towards a person, object or idea” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of ambivalence is ambivalences.
How many letters and syllables are in ambivalence?
| Letters | 11: A-M-B-I-V-A-L-E-N-C-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 36,998th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is ambivalence?
Ambivalence appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 36,998th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce ambivalence?
- /æmˈbɪvələns/
Ambivalence has 4 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-ambivalence.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of ambivalence
- ambivalences plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does ambivalence mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The coexistence of opposing attitudes or feelings (such as love and hate) towards a person, object or idea.
- 2
A state of uncertainty or indecisiveness.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Ambivalence in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | Ambivalenz |
| Portuguese | ambivalência |
| Spanish | ambivalencia , indecisión |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does ambivalence come from?
Borrowed from German Ambivalenz (“simultaneous conflicting feelings”), from Latin ambi- (“both”) and valentia (“strength”), from the verb valere (“to be strong”) (see valiant); spelled on the model of French-origin words ending in -ence. The German term was coined by Swiss psychiatrist Eugen Bleuler in 1910; by 1929, it had taken on a broader literary and general sense. Equivalent to ambi- + valence.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).