(a.) Doubtful or uncertain, particularly in respect to signification; capable of being understood in either of two or more possible senses; equivocal; as, an ambiguous course; an ambiguous expression.
Example Sentences:
(1) Along the spectrum of loyalties lie multiple loyalties and ambiguous loyalties, and the latter, if unresolved, create moral ambiguities.
(2) This examination has proved an important help in the diagnosis of all the cases of sexual ambiguity.
(3) Exogenous activators of PKC stimulate insulin secretion from B cells, but attempts to define a physiological role for PKC by using inhibitors of this enzyme have produced ambiguous results.
(4) The aza analogue (RS)-3-hydroxy-2,5-pyrrolidinedione-3-acetic acid (6) of the five-membered citric anhydride (2) was prepared in the sequence citric acid----2-phenyl-1,3-dioxolan-4-one-5,5-diacetic acid (1)----citric acid beta-amide (3)----6 and used to resolve ambiguities in the mechanism of the citrate synthase reaction.
(5) Results obtained with this analog can be ambiguous, since 2-DOG can be phosphorylated by hexokinases of animal cells.
(6) Ultrasound has also proven useful in evaluating patients with ambiguous genitalia, amenorrhea and suspected PID and also is an effective means of localizing intrauterine contraceptive devices.
(7) Authors have previously published April 1988 a lecture where they criticize the bad denomination "passed coma" full of ambiguity for public mind, to which "brain death" ought to be preferred.
(8) There were, though, large omissions and ambiguities that will need to be filled in and clarified as polling day nears.
(9) "Prostatic acid phosphatase" is a term that has been used widely and ambiguously to refer to acid phosphatase, which 1) is elevated in the sera of patients with various diseases of the prostate, 2) is inhibited by one or more specific inhibitors, 3) attacks one or more specific substrates, 4) has certain unique antigenic properties, 5) is extracted from homogenates of prostate, and 6) is obtained from prostate secretions, etc.
(10) We have Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris coming to those platforms this December, and Tomb Raider: The Definitive Edition is available on PS4.” However, there is still some slight ambiguity about whether the deal is for Winter 2015 only.
(11) This ambiguity was resolved by using resealed ghosts, which are unable to incorporate oleic acid into phospholipids.
(12) This report describes a minicomputer-based translation system (TRANSOFT) that employs word order rearrangement followed by word-for-word translation and resolution of ambiguities based on context.
(13) Authors report a ring chromosome 18 (18 r) in a four year old boy, with low birth weight, retarded growth and development, microcephaly and plagiocephaly, horizontal nystagmus, ambiguous genitalia, clinodactyly of the fifth finger, distal axial triradius, whorls pattern in 8 fingers in dermatoglyphic.
(14) Membrane potential trajectories of 68 bulbar respiratory neurones from the peri-solitary and peri-ambigual areas of the brain-stem were recorded in anaesthetized cats to explore the synaptic influences of post-inspiratory neurones upon the medullary inspiratory network.
(15) As well, two-dimensional 15N-1H heteronuclear spectroscopy was used to resolve a number of ambiguities present in the homonuclear spectra due to resonance redundancies.
(16) The axon of the labeled bulbospinal neuron had axonal collaterals which were distributed within the region of the nucleus ambiguous of the ipsilateral medulla.
(17) Of the 406 tests there have been 85 positive, 296 negative and 25 ambiguous reports.
(18) In a second experiment schizophrenics were significantly different from the depressives in showing less inclination to select a metaphorical meaning to an ambiguous adjective in a sentence.
(19) Three-quarters of the sample was impaired on at least one of four discourse tests (knowing the alternate meanings of ambiguous words in context; getting the point of figurative or metaphoric expressions; bridging the inferential gaps between events in stereotyped social situations; and producing speech acts that express the apparent intentions of others).
(20) Yet, the apparent ambiguities of science confuse the courts, the juries, and the public.
Confound
Definition:
(v. t.) To mingle and blend, so that different elements can not be distinguished; to confuse.
(v. t.) To mistake for another; to identify falsely.
(v. t.) To throw into confusion or disorder; to perplex; to strike with amazement; to dismay.
(v. t.) To destroy; to ruin; to waste.
Example Sentences:
(1) Previous studies have not always controlled for socioeconomic status (SES) of mothers or other potential confounders such as gestational age or birthweight of infants.
(2) Displacing potencies for dopamine in the nanomolar range are associated with agonist-specific D-3 receptor binding and it is predicted that the component of D-2 binding with high agonist affinity may play a confounding role in many D-3 receptor studies.
(3) Frequently, however, only incomplete data on confounders can be obtained from sources such as next-of-kin or co-workers.
(4) Among all subgroups, the odds ratios adjusted for pertinent confounders and interactions fluctuated randomly by about 0.9 and showed no consistent trend with increased alcohol consumption.
(5) The possibility of applying Signal Detection Theory (SDT) to gustation was investigated by testing the effect of three variables--smoking, signal probability, and food intake (confounded with time of day)--on the taste sensitivity to sucrose of 24 male and 24 female Ss.
(6) They also include difficulties peculiar to the condition of mild mental retardation, including the choice of method of classification whether by IQ testing or administratively; the heterogeneous nature of the individuals so characterised; and the confounding effects of social and biological factors and the changes in the implications for the affected individual of the condition, depending on age, sex and environment.
(7) Practitioners must be aware of the potential for interactions between (and confounding by) commercially used feed components.
(8) A weakness was in not including confounding factors such as social class and the lack of detailed questions on topics.
(9) In practice, confounding by factors related to exposure opportunity is common.
(10) By using a national sample we ensured that the influence of regional variations in the configuration of long-term care services would not confound estimates of the relative effect of client-related factors.
(11) The independent effects of separation and display size, which were confounded in the Sagi and Julesz experiments, were examined.
(12) In particular, it is shown that adjustment for a misclassified confounding variable can be greatly improved by using the methods presented.
(13) Possible confounding effects of missing data, institutionalization prior to adoption, information given to adoptive parents by the adoption agencies about the child's biological background, historical period, perinatal factors, and selective placement were considered.
(14) I argue that (a) the procedures they used to study confounding were suboptimal because multiple measures of depression and catastrophizing were not employed and (b) the distinctiveness of constructs might better be regarded as a continuous rather than all-or-none (having adequate discriminant validity versus being confounded) concept.
(15) The observed relation between physical activity and colon cancer was not confounded by dietary intake of calories, fat, or protein, nor was the diet and colon cancer relation confounded by physical activity (odds ratios for calories, protein, and fat in males were 2.40, 2.57, and 2.18, respectively).
(16) It is this "multiple system failure" that compounds the effects of large scale events and confounds emergency response.
(17) To control for possible confounding variables, the authors repeated the analyses after stratifying by demographic and diagnostic variables that were distributed differently among men and women.
(18) Some recent reports implicate marijuana smoking as a cause of cancer of the upper aerodigestive tract, though most of the subjects were exposed to other, possibly confounding, etiologic factors, namely tobacco and alcohol.
(19) With the use of the logistic regression method, an adjusted OR was obtained after controlling various confounders.
(20) The purpose of this study was to examine the association between maternal caffeine consumption and low birthweight, intrauterine growth retardation, and prematurity, adjusting for multiple confounders.