| Main Entry: | ambiguous |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | having more than one meaning |
Synonyms: |
clear as dishwater, cryptic, doubtful, dubious, enigmatic, enigmatical, equivocal, inconclusive, indefinite, indeterminate, inexplicit, muddy, multivocal, obscure, opaque, polysemous, puzzling, questionable, tenebrous, uncertain, unclear, unintelligible, vague |
| Notes: | ambiguous is vague by accident or intent; equivocal is vague by intent |
Antonyms: |
clear, definite, explicit, lucid |
| Main Entry: | backhanded |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | underhanded |
Synonyms: |
ambiguous, double-edged, equivocal, sarcastic, sardonic, two-edged |
| Main Entry: | borderline |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | inexact |
Synonyms: |
ambiguous, ambivalent, doubtful, dubitable, equivocal, indecisive, indefinite, indeterminate, marginal, open, problematic, uncertain, unclassifiable, unclear, undecided, unsettled |
Antonyms: |
certain, definite, exact, sure |
| Main Entry: | cryptic |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | secret; obscure in meaning |
Synonyms: |
Delphian, Delphic, abstruse, ambiguous, apocryphal, arcane, cabalistic, dark, enigmatic, equivocal, esoteric, evasive, hidden, incomprehensible, inexplicable, murky, mysterious, mystic, mystical, mystifying, occult, opaque, oracular, perplexing, puzzling, recondite, secretive, strange, tenebrous, unclear, unfathomable, uninformative, vague, veiled |
| Notes: | cryptic coloration helps conceal an animal; phaneric coloration makes an animal stand out |
Antonyms: |
clear, obvious, plain, seen, straightforward |
| Main Entry: | deceptive |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | dishonest |
Synonyms: |
ambiguous, astucious, beguiling, bum*, catchy, crafty, cunning, deceitful, deceiving, deluding, delusive, delusory, designing, disingenuous, fake, fallacious, false, fishy, foxy, fraudulent, illusory, imposturous, indirect, insidious, lying, misleading, mock, oblique, off*, phony, plausible, rascal, roguish, scheming, seeming, serpentine, shifty, slick, slippery, sly, sneaky, snide, specious, spurious, subtle, treacherous, tricky, two-faced, underhand, underhanded, unreliable, wily |
Antonyms: |
forthright, frank, honest, open, truthful, upright |
| Main Entry: | devious |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | crooked; indirect |
Synonyms: |
ambiguous, bending, circuitous, confounding, confusing, curving, detouring, deviating, digressing, digressory, diverting, errant, erratic, excursive, flexuous, misleading, obscure, out-of-the-way, rambling, remote, removed, roundabout, serpentine, straying, tortuous, twisting, wandering |
Antonyms: |
direct, straight |
| Main Entry: | doubtful |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | questionable, unclear |
Synonyms: |
ambiguous, borderline, chancy, clouded, contingent, debatable, dicey, disreputable, doubtable, dubious, dubitable, equivocal, far-fetched, fat chance, fishy, hazardous, hazy, iffy, impugnable, inconclusive, indecisive, indefinite, indeterminate, indistinct, insecure, long shot, obscure, on thin ice, open, pending, precarious, problematic, shady, sneaky*, speculative, suspect, suspicious, touch-and-go, touchy, uncertain, unconfirmed, undecided, uneasy, unsettled, unstable, unsure, up for grabs |
Antonyms: |
certain, clear, confirmed, decided, definite, exact, resolved, settled, unquestionable |
| Main Entry: | dubious |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | vague, unclear |
Synonyms: |
ambiguous, debatable, disinclined, doubtful, equivocal, indefinite, indeterminate, mistrustful, obscure, open, problematic, problematical, undecided, unsettled |
Antonyms: |
certain, clear, definite, unambiguous, unobscure |
| Main Entry: | elusive |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | evasive, mysterious |
Synonyms: |
ambiguous, baffling, cagey, deceitful, deceptive, difficult to catch, elusory, equivocal, evanescent, fallacious, fleeting, fraudulent, fugacious, fugitive, greasy, illusory, imponderable, incomprehensible, indefinable, insubstantial, intangible, misleading, occult, phantom, puzzling, shifty, shy, slippery, stonewalling, subtle, transient, transitory, tricky, unspecific, volatile |
Antonyms: |
attracting, confronting, encountering, enticing, facing, inviting |
| Main Entry: | enigmatic/enigmatical |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | mysterious |
Synonyms: |
Delphian, Sibylline, ambiguous, cryptic, dark, doubtful, equivocal, incomprehensible, indecipherable, inexplicable, inscrutable, obscure, occult, oracular, perplexing, puzzling, recondite, secret, sphinxlike, stickling, stumping, teasing, uncertain, unfathomable, unintelligible |
Antonyms: |
clear, obvious, unmysterious |