ambivalence

/æmˈbɪvələns/

//æmˈbɪvələns// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"ambivalence" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“ambivalence” has 17 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #36,859. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#36,859
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords
17
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The coexistence of opposing attitudes or feelings (such as love and hate) towards a person, object or idea.

Corpus desk

Index EN-ambivalence · ambivalence · English

ambivalence · rank #36,859 · 17 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #36,859
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 17 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH amped

Nearest frequency peer: amped (+1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “ambivalence”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “ambivalence” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

ambivalence vs ambivalent
82% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for ambivalence
PropertyValue
Headwordambivalence
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/æmˈbɪvələns/
Letters11
Frequency rank#36,859
Misspellings tracked17
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “ambivalence”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).ambivalencelands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “amped” (#36,860), “alveolar” (#36,857), “amphitheater” (#36,861). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “ambivalence” is #36,859. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 17 spelling variants around ambivalence (IPA /æmˈbɪvələns/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #36,859 among 3,931 “A” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 17 likely wrong-spelling variants for ambivalence, with forms such as "abmivalence", "ambbivalence", and "ambiavlence". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "ambivalent", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: 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… The correct English form is ambivalence, spelled A-M-B-I-V-A-L-E-N-C-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    The coexistence of opposing attitudes or feelings (such as love and hate) towards a person, object or idea.
  2. 2
    A state of uncertainty or indecisiveness.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how ambivalence appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. "I dearly loved my master, son," she said. "You should have hated him," I said. "He gave me several sons," she said, "and because I loved my sons I learned to love their father though I hated him too." "I too have become acquainted with ambivalence, I said.
  2. The great sociologist Zygmunt Bauman argued that philo-Semitism and anti-Semitism both fall under “allosemitism”: literally Othering the Jew. He defined it not as resentment of what is different, which is xenophobia, but rather of what defies order and clear categories. In 1997, he wrote, “The Jew is ambivalence incarnate. And ambivalence is ambivalence m…

Etymology

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.

This word in other languages

ambivalencia(Español)Ambivalenz(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • abmivalence
  • ambbivalence
  • ambiavlence
  • ambivaelnce
  • ambivalance
  • ambivalecne
  • ambivalencce
  • ambivalenec
  • ambivalennce
  • ambivallence
  • ambivalnece
  • ambivlaence
  • ambivvalence
  • ambvialence
  • amibvalence
  • ammbivalence
  • mabivalence

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of ambivalence - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

abmivalence2ambbivalence1ambiavlence2ambivaelnce2ambivalance1ambivalecne2ambivalencce1ambivalenec2
Edit distance from "ambivalence"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "ambivalence"?
"ambivalence" is spelled A-M-B-I-V-A-L-E-N-C-E. The IPA pronunciation is /æmˈbɪvələns/.
What does "ambivalence" mean?
As a noun, "ambivalence" means: The coexistence of opposing attitudes or feelings (such as love and hate) towards a person, object or idea.
What words are commonly confused with "ambivalence"?
"ambivalence" is commonly confused with "ambivalent". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "ambivalence"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "ambivalence" is /æmˈbɪvələns/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "ambivalence"?
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 Germa... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "ambivalence", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 11 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

arraignment#36,873whitewashed#36,830underserved#36,802synthesizer#36,774

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (17 here; floor ≥5).

amphitheater17 variantscommunicable17 variantsgermination17 variantspredisposed17 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list