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The lexical ambiguity of a word or phrase applies to it having more than one meaning in the language to which the word belongs. [4] "Meaning" here refers to whatever should be represented by a good dictionary. For instance, the word "bank" has several distinct lexical definitions, including "financial institution" and "edge of a river".
Syntactic ambiguity, also known as structural ambiguity, [ 1] amphiboly, or amphibology, is characterized by the potential for a sentence to yield multiple interpretations due to its ambiguous syntax. This form of ambiguity is not derived from the varied meanings of individual words but rather from the relationships among words and clauses ...
Equivocation. In logic, equivocation ("calling two different things by the same name") is an informal fallacy resulting from the use of a particular word/expression in multiple senses within an argument. [ 1][ 2] It is a type of ambiguity that stems from a phrase having two or more distinct meanings, not from the grammar or structure of the ...
Polysemy ( / pəˈlɪsɪmi / or / ˈpɒlɪˌsiːmi /; [ 1][ 2] from Ancient Greek πολύ- (polý-) 'many' and σῆμα (sêma) 'sign') is the capacity for a sign (e.g. a symbol, a morpheme, a word, or a phrase) to have multiple related meanings. For example, a word can have several word senses. [ 3] Polysemy is distinct from monosemy, where ...
Androgyny. Androgyny is the possession of both masculine and feminine characteristics. [ 1] Androgyny may be expressed with regard to biological sex, gender identity, or gender expression . When androgyny refers to mixed biological sex characteristics in humans, it often refers to conditions in which characteristics of both sexes are clearly ...
Ambiguity (law) Ambiguity occurs when a single word or phrase may be interpreted in two or more ways. As law frequently involves lengthy, complex texts, ambiguity is common. Thus, courts have evolved various doctrines for dealing with cases in which legal texts are ambiguous.
Ambiguous words. Can you tell what this is a picture of? In general terms, a word is ambiguous if its intended meaning is in some way unclear to the reader. There are three main reasons why this can happen: The meaning of the word is imprecise or open to more than one interpretation. For example, in "the Sun is bright", 'bright' is a relative ...
Double entendres generally rely on multiple meanings of words, or different interpretations of the same primary meaning. They often exploit ambiguity and may be used to introduce it deliberately in a text. Sometimes a homophone can be used as a pun. When three or more meanings have been constructed, this is known as a "triple entendre", etc. [4]