ambiguas

Ambiguas is the feminine plural form of the Spanish adjective ambiguo, used to describe nouns that can be interpreted in more than one way or that lack a single clear meaning. It agrees with feminine plural nouns, such as frases ambiguas or instrucciones ambiguas, and is part of everyday linguistic usage in Spanish-speaking contexts.

Etymology and usage context: Ambiguo and its feminine forms, ambiguo/ambigua and ambiguas, derive from Latin ambigus, meaning doubtful or open to more than one interpretation. In modern Spanish, ambiguas commonly appears in discussions of language, law, literature, and communication to signal indeterminacy, uncertainty, or multiple possible readings. The related noun ambigüedad refers to the quality of being ambiguous, though its plural form is not ambigüas.

Nuance and interpretation: The term does not condemn the subject as false or deceptive; rather, it notes the presence of multiple plausible interpretations. The degree of ambiguity can vary, from minor vagueness to significant interpretive conflicts. In formal writing, the use of ambiguas may require clarification or specification to reduce misinterpretation, such as providing context, definitions, or examples.

Cross-linguistic note: In other languages, cognates appear with similar meaning (for example, English ambiguous). While readers may encounter ambiguas in bilingual texts, the word functions primarily as a grammatical gender and number-marked adjective in Spanish.

See also: Ambiguo, ambigüedad (ambiguity), interpretation, linguistic ambiguity.