How to spell ambiguous

hear itam·big·u·ous/æm'bɪɡjuəs/adjectivePrefixes and work

What it means: Open to multiple interpretations.

In a sentence: The picture in the cloud was ambiguous and could look like a dog or a rabbit.

The part people get wrong

Watch for an unstressed vowel that is hard to hear. Often misspelled as ambigous or ambigiuos.

Same family: ambiguity, ambiguities, unambiguous, ambiguously, clarity. If you can spell one, the shared part carries to the others.

Where it comes from: “Ambiguous” comes from the Latin word “ambiguus,” which literally meant “going both ways” or “driving in both directions.” The Latin root ambi- also appears in words like “ambidextrous” (able to use both hands equally well).

Patterns it uses: The unstressed vowel (schwa)

Try spelling it

You will hear the word and a sentence. Type it and press Enter. Then four more words from the same level, so you know where you stand.

Words like this

marvelous · questionnaire · embarrass · liaison · electrician · conscience · transaction · destination

Spelling.School is a spaced-repetition spelling practice: ten minutes a day, every word spoken aloud, every miss explained, and every word coming back just before you would forget it. Try five words without signing up.