- ambivalence
- "simultaneous conflicting feelings," 1924, from Ger. Ambivalenz, coined 1910 by Swiss psychologist Eugen Bleuler (1857–1939) on model of Ger. Equivalenz "equivalence," etc., from L. ambi- "both" (see ambi-) + valentia "strength," from prp. of valere "be strong" (see valiant). A psychological term that by 1929 had taken on a broader literary and general sense.