equivocal

Etymology

From Late Latin aequivocus + -al, from aequus + vocō.

adj

1. Having two or more equally applicable meanings; capable of double or multiple interpretation.
   equivocal words
   an equivocal sentence
   For the beauties of Shakespeare are not of so dim or equivocal a nature as to be visible only to learned eyes. 1817, William Hazlitt, Characters of Shakespeare's Plays
2. Capable of being ascribed to different motives, or of signifying opposite feelings, purposes, or characters; deserving to be suspected.
   His actions are equivocal.
3. Uncertain, as an indication or sign.

noun

1. (philosophy) A word or expression capable of different meanings; an ambiguous term.
   Some equivocals are merely ambiguous. Sharp is an example. It is equivocal since it is appropriate to call different types of things 'sharp' though what it is for them to be sharp differs. 2012, Deborah Achtenberg, Cognition of Value in Aristotle's Ethics