How to Differentiate Between Vagueness and Ambiguity

Words that are vague and words that are ambiguous are each, by definition, hard to define without context, and sometimes even with context. Additionally, there are times a word can be both vague and ambiguous. This is part of the semantic definition of vagueness and ambiguity and this is also why these word types are so frequently used in wordplay and crossword puzzles. Reviewing the definitions of vagueness and ambiguity and looking at examples of words from each category can show the subtle differences between the two concepts.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

1. Start by reviewing the definition of a vague word. A vague word is one that has an indefinite denotation. This indefinite denotation is the expression of one particular sense of a meaning.
2. Review the definition of an ambiguous word. An ambiguous word is one that has the possibility of many different denotations.
3. Look at an example of a vague word.
   
   The word “child” is vague because it does not define whether the child is a male or a female, though either one still has the same general definition of a young human.
4. Look at an example of an ambiguous word.
   
   The word “bright” is ambiguous because it has the possibility to have two entirely different meanings depending upon the context in which it appears. It can refer to the intelligence of a human or the amount of light in a particular environment.
5. If you are still unclear on the difference between vagueness and ambiguity, consider the word “triangle." When “triangle” refers to the shape it is vague because it does not define whether the triangle is a right triangle an obtuse triangle or a scalene triangle. However, the word “triangle” can also be ambiguous because without context you cannot tell if the word is referring to the shape, the musical instrument or the artistic drawing tool.

Tips & Warnings

• Ambiguity and polysemy are also very closely related and some definitions of polysemy have even gone so far as to state that it is basically just another name for ambiguity.