Equivocal

Definitions: Equivocal

Equivocal

Adjective

1. Open to two or more interpretations; or of uncertain nature or significance; or (often) intended to mislead; "an equivocal statement"; "the polling had a complex and equivocal (or ambiguous) message for potential female candidates"; "the officer's equivocal behavior increased the victim's uneasiness"; "popularity is an equivocal crown"; "an equivocal response to an embarrassing question".

2. Open to question; "aliens of equivocal loyalty"; "his conscience reproached him with the equivocal character of the union into which he had forced his son"-Anna Jameson.

3. Uncertain as a sign or indication; "the evidence from bacteriologic analysis was equivocal".

Date "equivocal" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1602. (references)

Synonym: Equivocal

Synonym: ambiguous (adj). (additional references)

Antonym: unequivocal (adj). (additional references)

Context	Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus).
Equivocalness	Adjective: equivocal, ambiguous, amphibolous, homonymous; double-tongued; (lying); enigmatical, indeterminate.
Impurity	Adjective: impure; unclean; (dirty); not to be mentioned to ears polite; immodest, shameless; indecorous, indelicate, indecent; Fescennine; loose, risque, coarse, gross, broad, free, equivocal, smutty, fulsome, ribald, obscene, bawdy, pornographic.
Uncertainty	Vague; indeterminate, indefinite; ambiguous, equivocal; undefined, undefinable; confused; (indistinct); mystic, oracular; dazed.
Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus.

Crosswords: Equivocal

English words defined with "equivocal": ambiguous, Amphibolic ♦ Dilogy ♦ Equivocal chord ♦ Homonymous ♦ Indefinite term, indeterminate ♦ Multivocal ♦ Pythonism ♦ weasel word. (references)

Domain	Title
Books	Equivocal Beings: Politics, Gender, and Sentimentality in the 1790s: Wollstonecraft, Radcliffe, Burney, Austen (Women in Culture and Society) (reference) Equivocal Communication (Sage Series in Interpersonal Communication, Vol 11) (reference) Equivocal Death: A Novel (reference) Equivocal Dreams: Studies in Modern Hebrew Literature (reference) Equivocal Endings in Classic American Novels : The Scarlet Letter; Adventures of Huckleberry Finn; The Ambassadors; The Great Gatsby (reference) (more book examples)
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Title	Author	Quote
Les Miserables	Hugo, Victor	In one corner a few scraps of iron of an equivocal appearance.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Subject	Topic	Quote
Health		However, these results too are equivocal. (references)
		Results of randomized controlled trials of calcium supplementation on blood pressure have been equivocal. (references)
		However, many of these studies provide equivocal results because of design, sample size, and other factors. (references)
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits.

"Equivocal" is generally used as an adjective (general or positive) -- approximately 100.00% of the time. "Equivocal" is used about 107 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted)

Parts of Speech	Percent	Usage per 100 Million Words	Rank in English
Adjective (general or positive)	100%	107	31,463

Expressions using "equivocal": equivocal answer ♦ equivocal behavior ♦ Equivocal chord ♦ equivocal honesty ♦ equivocal reply ♦ equivocal result ♦ equivocal statement ♦ equivocal success. Additional references.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com.

Language		Translations for "equivocal"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses.
Albanian		i dyshimtë (dingy, dodgy, doubtful, dubious, fishy, left handed, misgiving, moot, precarious, problematic, queer, suspect, suspicious, unassured, uncertain, unreliable, wildcat), i dykuptueshëm (ambiguous). (various references)

Arabic		‏ملتبس ذو معنيين, ‏ملتبس (ambiguous, doubtful, dubious, obscure, uncertain, vague), ‏مريب (doubtful, dubious, dubitable, fishy, jack, problematic, queer, questionable, suspicious), ‏مشكوك فيه (doubtful, dubious, dubitable, fishy, questionable, suspicious), ‏مشبوه (doubtful, dubious, dubitable, fishy, suspect, suspected, suspicious, under suspicion), ‏مبهم (abstruse, ambiguous, cryptic, dark, dim, enigmatic, hazy, impenetrable, incomprehensible, inscrutable, misty, mysterious, mystic, obscure, recondite, unclear, unfathomable, unintelligible, vague), ‏غير قابل للتحديد. (various references)

Bulgarian		съмнителен (alleged, ambiguous, amphibious, dingy, disputable, doubtful, dubious, fishy, fly-by-night, hedge, hole-and-corner, indeterminate, moot, off beat, phoney, precarious, problematic, queer, questionable, screwy, seedy, shady, shaky, suspect, suspicious, uncertain, unsure, vague), неустановен (amorphous, irresolute, unadjusted, unestablished, unspecified, yeasty), несигурен (build on sand, chancy, dangerous, disputable, dubious, faltering, halting, insecure, irresolute, long, pendulous, precarious, problematic, queasy, risky, rocky, shaky, slippy, suspensive, tentative, top heavy, tottery, treacherous, uncertain, uneasy, unreliable, unresolved, unsafe, unsettled, unsound, unsteady, unsure, untrustworthy, variable, versatile, wonky), подозрителен (distrustful, doubtful, jealous, leery, mistrustful, queer, suspect, suspicious), двусмислен (ambiguity, ambiguous, dark, double, double meaning, double-barrelled, double-hearted, oracular, two-edged, vague). (various references)

Chinese		模棱两可 (Ambiguous). (various references)

Czech		pochybný (devious, disreputable, dodgy, doubtful, dubious, murky, problematical, questionable, seamy, seedy, shady, specious, suspect, unsavory), nejasný (abstruse, ambiguous, dim, dimmish, faint, fuzzy, hazy, indeterminate, indistinct, misty, obscure, stolid, tenuous, unclear, vague, woolly), dvojsmyslný (ambiguous, backhanded, double-minded). (various references)

Farsi		نامعلوم (Conditional, Hazy, Incalculable, Inconspicuous, Indescribable, Indistinct, Invisible, Pendant, Uncertain, Uncharted, Unknown, Unlimited), دوپهلو (Ambiguous), دارای ابهام , دارای دومعنی . (various references)

Finnish		kaksimielinen (ambiguous). (various references)

French		louche, incertain, douteux, ambigu, équivoque (equivocation). (various references)

German		zweideutig (ambiguous, ambiguously, equivocally, suggestive), mehrdeutig (ambiguous, equivocally). (various references)

Greek		αβέβαιοσ (precarious, touch and go, uncertain, unsure, vague), αμφίλογοσ (ambiguous, evasive), διφορούμενοσ (ambiguous, oracular). (various references)

Hebrew		מפוקפק (apocryphal, doubtful, dubious, moot, questionable, suspect, suspicious, uncertain, unfounded), �"ו משמעי (ambiguous, ambivalent). (various references)

Hungarian		többféleképpen magyarázható, megbízhatatlan (fickle, irresponsible, skittish, to prove a broken reed, treacherous memory, twisty, unfaithful, unreliable, untrustworthy, wild cat), kétes értékű (apocryphal), kétértelmű (ambiguous, oracular, suggestive), kérdéses (at issue, in question, pending, problematic, questionable, vexed), homályos (abstruse, apocalyptic, bleary, blurred, cloudy, darksome, dim, dusk, dusky, foggy, frosted, fuzzy, gloomy, hazy, indistinct, indistinctive, lustreless, misty, murky, nebulous, oblique, obscure, recondite, shadowy, shady, shape, stygian, transcendental, twilit, unclear, vague), határozatlan (hesitant, indecisive, indefinite, indeterminate, indistinct, inexplicit, infirm, invertebrate, irresolute, obscure, shilly shally, shilly-shally, to be on the hedge, transcendental, undecided, undecisive, undetermined, unresolved, unsettled, weak-kneed), gyanús (bung, doubtful, dubious, fishy, liable to suspicion, queer, shady, suspect, suspicion, suspicious, to give rise to suspicion), félremagyarázható, félreérthető (ambiguous, dubious), dubiózus. (various references)

Indonesian		meragukan (confuse, doubt, hesitate, incredulous). (various references)

Italian		ambiguo (ambidexter, ambiguous, backhanded, devious, doubtful). (various references)

Japanese Kanji		紛らわしい (ambiguous, confusing, misleading), � 然 (obscure, vague). (various references)

Japanese Katakana		たまむしいろ (iridescent), まぎらわしい (ambiguous, confusing, misleading), ばくぜ�" (obscure, vague), かいじゅう (ambiguous, conciliation, marine animal, monster, obscure). (various references)

Manx		drogh-ouryssagh (compromising), daa-cheayllagh (ambiguous). (various references)

Norwegian		tvetydig. (various references)

Pig Latin		equivocalay

Portuguese		equívoco (equivocation, fishy, misapprehension, miscomprehension, misconception, mislay, mistake, misunderstanding, oversight, questionable, quibble, quirk, slip up, suspicious), mútuo (advance, loan, loan credit, mutual, reciprocal, simple loan), ambíguo (ambiguous, double, double-barrelled, double-minded, lax). (various references)

Romanian		echivoc (ambiguity, ambiguous, doubt, equivocation, equivoque, multivocal, quibble, shady, suspicious), suspect (doubtful, doubtful person, dubious, fishy, queer, questionable, shady, suspect, suspicious, suspiciously), dubios (doubtful, dubious, fishy, questionable, shady, suspicious, uncertain), ambiguu (ambiguous, ambiguously, double, doubtful, multivocal, shady). (various references)

Russian		двусмысленный (ambiguous, double-barrelled, forked, oracular). (various references)

Serbo-Croatian		nepouzdan (dicky, precarious, sandy, trustless, unassured, uncertain, unreliable, unsafe, unsteady, untrustworthy), dvosmislen (ambiguous, double edged, double meaning, double-barrelled, evasive, indeterminate). (various references)

Spanish		equívoco (ambiguity, ambiguous, double entendre, equivocation, mistake, mistaken, non committal, pun, quibble, vague). (various references)

Swedish		tvivelaktig (doubtful, dubious, dubitable, exceptionable, fishy, iffy, moot, problematic, questionable, shady), tvetydig (ambiguous, backhanded, double-barrelled, dubious, indecent, left handed, suggestive). (various references)

Thai		ที่กำกวม, ที่ยากจะเข้าใจไ�"้. (various references)

Turkish		lastikli (ambiguous, elastic, elasticated, left handed), iki anlamlı (ambiguous, backhanded, delphic, double, two-edged), belirsiz (ambiguous, backhanded, clouded, cloudy, cloudyly, dubious, dusty, foggy, fuzzy, hazy, in the balance, indefinable, indefinite, indescribable, indeterminate, indistinct, inglorious, lax, misty, obscure, off color, off colour, precarious, shadowy, uncertain, unclear, undefined, undetermined, unsettled, vague), şüpheli (chancy, contestable, creaky, debatable, discredited, disputable, dodgy, doubtful, dubious, dubitative, fishy, funny, funny peculiar, hazardous, indecisive, indefinable, murky, nebulous, precarious, problematic, problematical, sceptical, screwy, shadowy, shady, shaky, skeptical, speculative, suspect, suspenseful, suspicious, umbrageous, uncertain, unconvincing). (various references)

Ukranian		сумнівний (apocryphal, doubtful, dubious, indeterminate, naughty, off color, off colour, precarious, problematic, problematical, queer, risky, shady, uncertain), двозначний (ambiguous, amphibological, back-handed, double-barrelled, doubtful, forked, oracular, oraculous, two-edged). (various references)

Vietnamese		nước đôi (amphibological), lập lờ, khả nghi không rõ rệt, không quyết định (suspensive), không chắc chắn (pasteboard, touch-and-go, unassertive, uncertainly), hai nghĩa đáng nghi ngờ. (various references)

Welsh		mwys (ambiguous). (various references)
Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references.

Derivations
	Words beginning with "equivocal": equivocalities, equivocality, equivocally, equivocalness, equivocalnesses. (additional references)
	Words ending with "equivocal": unequivocal. (additional references)
	Words containing "equivocal": unequivocally. (additional references)
Misspellings
	"Equivocal" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: eqiuvical, eqivocal, equivacal, equivical, equivocality, eqvivocal. (additional references)
Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references).

# of Phoneme Matches	Pronunciation	Word(s) rhyming with "equivocal" (pronounced ikwi"vukul)
9	i k w i" v u k u l	unequivocal.
5	-v u k u l	clavicle.
4	-u k u l	aeronautical, agrochemical, allegorical, anarchical, anatomical, anthropological, article, barnacle, biblical, biochemical, chemical, Chronicle, clerical, clinical, commonsensical, coracle, cortical, cuticle, diacritical, domical, epochal, etymological, farcical, follicle, geophysical, grammatical, hierarchical, hypothetical, impractical, maniacal, medical, meteorological, methodical, miracle, monocle, mythical, nautical, numerical, obstacle, Oracle, oratorical, particle, photochemical, pinnacle, polemical, political, pontifical, practical, quizzical, radical, receptacle, reciprocal, satirical, skeptical, spectacle, tentacle, typical.
3	-k u l	acoustical, alphabetical, analytical, ankle, antithetical, apolitical, archaeological, archeological, astrological, astronautical, astronomical, asymmetrical, atypical, autobiographical, bicycle, bifocal, biographical, biological, biomedical, biotechnological, botanical, brickle, buckle, cackle, categorical, cervical, chronological, chuckle, circle, classical, comical, conical, crackle, critical, cubicle, cycle, cyclical, cylindrical, cynical, debacle, dermatological, diabolical, dialectical, ducal, ecclesiastical, ecological, economical, ecumenical, egotistical, electrical, electrochemical, electromechanical, elliptical, empirical, encircle, encyclical, epidemiological, eschatological, ethical, ethnical, evangelical, fanatical, fecal, fickle, fiscal, focal, freckle, galenical, geographical, geological, geometrical, geopolitical, gonococcal, grackle, granduncle, graphical, gynecological, hackle, heckle, helical, heretical, heterocercal, historical, honeysuckle, Huckle, hypercritical, hypocritical, hysterical, icicle, identical, ideological, illogical, immunological, inimical, ironical, jackal, knuckle, lackadaisical, lexical, liturgical, local, logical, logistical, lyrical, magical, mathematical, matriarchal, mechanical, meikle, metallurgical, metaphorical, metaphysical, methodological, metrical, Mickle, morphological, motorcycle, muckle, musical, mystical, mythological, neoclassical, neurological, nickel, Nickle, Nicol, nonelectrical, nonpolitical, nonsensical, nonsurgical, nontechnical, ontological, optical, ornithological, paradoxical, pathological, patriarchal, pedagogical, periodical, petrochemical, pharmaceutical, pharmacological, philosophical, phonological, physical, physiological, pickle, popsicle, preclinical, problematical, prototypical, psychical, psychological, pumpernickel, puritanical, rabbinical, radiological, ramshackle, rankle, rascal, recycle, rhetorical, ruckle, runkle, sabbatical, semiclassical, semicylindrical, semitropical, serological, shackle, shekel, sickle, sociological, Sokol, sparkle, speckle, spherical, sprinkle, statistical, stereotypical, stickle, strategical, suckle, surgical, symmetrical, tabernacle, tackle, tactical, technical, technological, teleological, testicle, theatrical, theological, theoretical, tickle, tinkle, topical, toxicological, trickle, tricycle, tropical, twinkle, typographical, tyrannical, umbilical, uncle, uncritical, uneconomical, unethical, unicycle, unshackle, untypical, vehicle, vertical, viatical, virological, vocal, whimsical, Winkle, wrinkle, zoological.
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits.

Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams
	Words within the letters "a-c-e-i-l-o-q-u-v"
	-2 letters: coequal, vacuole.
	-3 letters: aculei, alcove, caique, calque, claque, clique, cloque, coeval, eluvia.
	-4 letters: alive, aulic, calve, cavie, cavil, clave, clavi, clove, equal, ileac, laevo, louie, oculi, oleic, olive, ovule, quail, quale, uveal, value, viola, vocal, voice, voila, voile.
	-5 letters: alec, aloe, calo, caul, cave, ceil, ciao, clue, coal, coil, cola, cole, cove, evil, ilea.
	Words containing the letters "a-c-e-i-l-o-q-u-v"
	+2 letters: equivocally, unequivocal.
	+3 letters: equivocality.
	+4 letters: equivocalness, unequivocably, unequivocally.
	+5 letters: equivocalities, nonequivalence.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro.