(a.) (Literally, called equally one thing or the other; hence:) Having two significations equally applicable; capable of double interpretation; of doubtful meaning; ambiguous; uncertain; as, equivocal words; an equivocal sentence.
(a.) Capable of being ascribed to different motives, or of signifying opposite feelings, purposes, or characters; deserving to be suspected; as, his actions are equivocal.
(a.) Uncertain, as an indication or sign; doubtful.
(n.) A word or expression capable of different meanings; an ambiguous term; an equivoque.
Example Sentences:
(1) However six equivocal studies were observed in profoundly jaundiced patients with bilirubin levels above 400 mumol l-1 due to difficulties in differentiating extrahepatic obstruction from severe intrahepatic cholestasis.
(2) The great clinical value of the procedure is shown by the following findings:X-ray-negative lesions--including 2 cases of carcinoma--were found in 35 percent of the cases, radiologically demonstrated lesions could be defined more precisely in 18 percent, and the presence of colonic lesions could be ruled out in 11 percent in spite of equivocal X-ray findings.
(3) Differentiation of thrombi from slow flow in the pulmonary arteries, sometimes observed in the presence of pulmonary arterial hypertension, can be equivocal.
(4) Conversely, the presence of unchanged intracellular or intraluminal O-acetyl sialic acid may help to exclude a diagnosis of malignancy in equivocal cases.
(5) Interpretation of scans was equivocal in another 18% of patients due to undetectable ascension of the tracer to the uterus.
(6) Endpoint events were also more common in patients with an abnormal (positive or equivocal) preoperative exercise test response than in those with a negative response (27% vs 14%); however, preoperative exercise results were not statistically significant independent predictors of cardiac risk.
(7) Radiographic appearances of tumours of the paranasal sinus are often equivocal.
(8) Of these 65 donors, 46 had normal studies, nine had pericardial effusions, five had mild septal hypokinesia with otherwise normal function, four had equivocal mitral valve prolapse, and only one heart could not be visualized.
(9) Different procurement systems have already made England a slightly "different country" for Scottish suppliers, many of whom are more concerned about Cameron's equivocal attitude towards the European Union.
(10) Tumor rates are given for each positive or equivocal effect observed in 67 studies judged to show carcinogenic effects and in the 17 studies that show equivocal effects.
(11) Conflicting and equivocal data have characterized self-reports of depression and other affects in alcoholics.
(12) None of the lesions with histologic features equivocal for HPV infection had detectable HPV DNA by in situ hybridization, though some did contain HPV DNA sequences as ascertained by filter hybridization analysis.
(13) While it is unlikely that Zardari's government had any direct link to the Mumbai attacks, there is every reason to believe that its failure effectively to crack down on the country's jihadi network, and its equivocation with figures such as Hafiz Muhammad Syed, means that atrocities of the kind we saw last week are likely to continue.
(14) Avascular lesions were the main cause for equivocal or incorrect angiographic diagnoses.
(15) A regular histologic examination was equivocal for evidence of HPV infection in four of the seven cases.
(16) No changes in regional contractility occurred with propranolol except for a minimal increase in hypokinesis in one patient at each dosage and equivocal development of a new area of slight hypokinesis in one patient and minimal apex of dyskinesis in another at the higher dosage.
(17) Enterobacteriaceae that yield zones of inhibition equal to or greater than 20 mm in diameter around 50-mug discs of carbenicillin are designated as sensitive to the drug; isolates that yield zones measuring from 18 to 19 mm in diameter are reported as of equivocal (intermediate) susceptibility to the drug, whereas those enterobacterial isolates that are characterized by zones of inhibition of 17 mm or less in diameter are interpreted as resistant to carbenicillin.
(18) Of the 47 compounds that were positive or equivocal in the alkaline unwinding assay, only carbon tetrachloride and prednisolone were negative in the mouse lymphoma assay, while 12 of the 19 compounds that were negative in the alkaline unwinding assay were positive in the mouse lymphoma assay.
(19) Cavernography should be used in the equivocal cases without hematuria or signs of fracture.
(20) It was observed that 2,4-D, dimecron, and vitavax were clastogenic, but the results obtained with benomyl and monocrotophos were equivocal.
Uncertain
Definition:
(a.) Not certain; not having certain knowledge; not assured in mind; distrustful.
(a.) Irresolute; inconsonant; variable; untrustworthy; as, an uncertain person; an uncertain breeze.
(1) However, the mechanism of the inhibitory action is still somewhat uncertain.
(2) Of course the job is not done and we will continue to remain vigilant to all risks, particularly when the global economic situation is so uncertain,” the chancellor said in a statement.
(3) The functional significance of these early changes in the nodal region is uncertain.
(4) Preservation of dopaminergic and H1 neurotransmission, probably within the blood barrier, is needed to allow the neuroendocrine transduction of cholinergic inputs, whereas the role of 5-HT neurotransmission remains uncertain.
(5) The nature of these infiltrative foci remains uncertain; however, they are unlikely to have been of neoplastic origin and may be due to interleukin-2-induced lymphocytic infiltration.
(6) Whether or not any alteration in disease progression will accrue from demonstrated local downstaging is, of course, uncertain.
(7) Similarly, it appears that acute hydronephrosis or worsening of an existing hydronephrosis has been somewhat overlooked as a possible cause of uncertain abdominal pain during pregnancy.
(8) In 11 patients, the electrophysiological mechanism remained uncertain.
(9) The nature of the cystatin C-immunoreactive substance in some of these vascular lesions is uncertain, but it might conceivably play an additional important role in the pathogenesis of brain hemorrhage in these cases.
(10) The mechanism of action is still uncertain but it is believed by some workers to be similar to that of a beta-adrenergic stimulator.
(11) Assays of drug levels in blood and of other biochemical characteristics of psychiatric patients are being proposed for clinical application, although their utility in practice remains uncertain.
(12) In 26 patients, including the two reported here, etiology was uncertain (idiopathic aneurysm of the left ventricle) in as much as malformation or an infectious disease might have been the underlying cause.
(13) Instead of inevitable defeat there is uncertain cop-out.
(14) The aetiology remains at present uncertain and therefore rational therapeutic strategies are difficult to plan.
(15) It was concluded that (1) there is a group of patients whose histories of poliomyelitis are uncertain, and (2) the lack of clear evidence for previous denervation after extensive electrodiagnostic testing is a valid means for excluding the diagnosis of postpoliomyelitis syndrome.
(16) Although approximately 24,000 adolescents were questioned, the investigations together provide an uncertain picture of the habits as these are not representative for Danish adolescents.
(17) McCall said the outlook remained uncertain: “The economic and operating environment remains uncertain, following the high levels of disruption and more recently the UK’s referendum decision to leave the EU, as well as the recent events in Turkey and Nice, which have affected consumer confidence.
(18) The significance of this event is uncertain; cleaved NGF demonstrates bioactivity and no function has been attributed to the octapeptide produced (NGF-OP; Ser-Ser-Thr-His-Pro-Val-Phe-His).
(19) While the histogenesis of these tumors remain uncertain, it is necessary to recognize that these aggressive neoplasms may occur primarily in the skin.
(20) Estimates of the number of eventual TA-AIDS cases to be seen are considerably more uncertain and require additional assumptions about the incubation distribution.