amphiboly

  • 1Amphiboly — Am*phib o*ly, n.; pl. {Amphibolies}. [L. amphibolia, Gr. ?: cf. OE. amphibolie. See {Amphibolous}.] Ambiguous discourse; amphibology. [1913 Webster] If it oracle contrary to our interest or humor, we will create an amphiboly, a double meaning… …

    The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • 2amphiboly — noun /amˈfɪbəli/ An ambiguous grammatical construction. By logical errors I mean such simple things as Equivocation, Amphiboly, and Begging the Question …

    Wiktionary

  • 3amphiboly — (Gk., amphibolos, not regular speech) A sentence whose grammatical structure permits different interpretations, e.g. ‘She suffered a bad taxpayer s dream’ (dream of a bad taxpayer? Bad dream of a taxpayer?). In Kant a transcendental amphiboly is… …

    Philosophy dictionary

  • 4amphiboly — noun (plural lies) Etymology: Late Latin amphibolia Date: circa 1588 amphibology …

    New Collegiate Dictionary

  • 5amphiboly — /am fib euh lee/, n., pl. amphibolies. ambiguity of speech, esp. from uncertainty of the grammatical construction rather than of the meaning of the words, as in The Duke yet lives that Henry shall depose. Also called amphibology. [1580 90; < L&#8230; …

    Universalium

  • 6amphiboly — n. See ambiguity …

    New dictionary of synonyms

  • 7amphiboly — am·phib·o·ly …

    English syllables

  • 8amphiboly — am•phib•o•ly [[t]æmˈfɪb ə li[/t]] n. pl. lies pho ambiguity of speech, esp. from uncertainty of the grammatical construction rather than of the meaning of the words, as in The Duke yet lives that Henry shall depose[/ex] • Etymology: 1580–90; &LT; …

    From formal English to slang

  • 9amphiboly — /æmˈfɪbəli/ (say am fibuhlee) noun (plural amphibolies) → amphibology. {Latin amphibolia ambiguity, from Greek} …

  • 10amphiboly —   n. ambiguous speech; equivocation; quibble.    ♦ amphibolous, a …

    Dictionary of difficult words