What does amphiboly mean?
Amphiboly is a noun denoting ambiguity that arises from the structure of a sentence rather than from the meanings of its individual words. A statement contains an amphiboly when its grammar permits two or more readings — as in 'I'll see you in a minute', which could mean shortly or while standing in a particular place. Because each word may be perfectly clear on its own, the confusion comes entirely from how they are arranged. Aristotle identified amphiboly as one of the thirteen sophistical fallacies, and it remains a standard concept in logic and rhetoric, where exploiting such ambiguity to support a faulty conclusion is treated as a formal fallacy. The term also matters in law and drafting, where structurally ambiguous clauses can lead to genuine disputes. Closely related to equivocation, which turns on words with multiple meanings, amphiboly is distinguished by its purely syntactic source. It is a scholarly-sounding word, most at home in academic discussion of reasoning, language, and argumentation.
nounAmbiguity in a sentence or phrase arising from its grammatical structure rather than from the meanings of individual words; a statement whose wording allows more than one interpretation because of how it is put together.
- Ambiguity resulting from grammatical structure — a sentence capable of two or more interpretations because of how its words are arranged (e.g. 'I saw the man with the telescope').
- In logic and rhetoric: the formal fallacy of drawing a conclusion by exploiting such structural ambiguity.
"The contract's clause about 'the house and the garage' was a classic amphiboly, since no one could tell whether both buildings were included or only one."
"The sign reading 'Fine for parking here' was a perfect amphiboly: was the fine imposed for parking, or was parking fine?"
"Debaters often commit an amphiboly by shifting between readings of a phrase like 'the shooting of the hunters' to suit their argument."
The plural follows the standard -ies pattern for nouns ending in -y preceded by a consonant.
"The editor flagged several amphibolies in the draft legislation."
Aristotle catalogued amphiboly as one of his thirteen fallacies over two thousand years ago — and lawyers still trip over it today.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of amphiboly
Amphiboly derives from the Greek word amphibolia, built on amphi- ('both ways, around') plus ballein ('to throw'), literally suggesting something thrown in two directions at once — a fitting image for a statement admitting two readings. The term entered English via Latin in the sixteenth century, initially appearing as 'amphibology' before the shortened form 'amphiboly' became standard. It shares the Greek prefix amphi- with words such as amphibious and amphitheatre, all conveying the idea of doubleness or being on both sides.
How amphiboly is actually used
Amphiboly is a technical term used chiefly in logic, rhetoric, linguistics, and legal analysis; it sounds scholarly in ordinary conversation. It carries a neutral-to-critical connotation, typically invoked when pointing out flawed reasoning or badly drafted language. The older spelling 'amphibology' survives but is less common.
Easily confused with amphiboly
Amphibology is simply an older variant spelling of the same word; both denote structural ambiguity, with amphiboly now the more common form.
Equivocation exploits a word that has multiple meanings, whereas amphiboly arises from grammatical construction even when every word has a single clear sense.