ambivalent

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The Word of the Day for August 11 is: 

ambivalent   \am-BIV-uh-lunt\   adjective
    *1 : simultaneously holding contradictory attitudes or feelings (as attraction and repulsion) toward someone or something 
     2 a : continually fluctuating (as between one thing and its opposite)  b : uncertain as to which approach to follow

Example sentence:
      I love learning about the solar system, but I'm ambivalent about paying to take an astronomy course.

Did you know?
      The words "ambivalent" and "ambivalence" entered English during the early 20th century in the field of psychology. They came to us through the International Scientific Vocabulary, a set of words common to men and women of science who speak different languages. The prefix "ambi-" means "both," and the "-valent" and "-valence" parts ultimately derive from the Latin verb "valere," meaning "to be strong." Not surprisingly, an ambivalent person is someone who has strong feelings on more than one side of a question or issue.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.





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