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am|bas|sa|dor ◆◇◇ /æmbæ sədə r / (ambassadors ) N‑COUNT [oft adj N ] An ambassador is an important official who lives in a foreign country and represents his or her own country's interests there. □ [+ to ] …the German ambassador to Poland.

am|bas|sa|dor|ial /æmbæ sədɔː riəl/ ADJ [ADJ n] Ambassadorial means belonging or relating to an ambassador. □  …an ambassadorial post.

am|ber /æ mbə r /

1 N‑UNCOUNT [usu N n] Amber is a hard yellowish-brown substance used for making jewellery. □  …an amber choker with matching earrings.

2 COLOUR Amber is used to describe things that are yellowish-brown in colour.

3 COLOUR An amber traffic light is orange. □  Cars did not stop when the lights were on amber.

am|bi|ance /æ mbiəns/ → see ambience

am|bi|dex|trous /æ mbide kstrəs/ ADJ [usu v-link ADJ ] Someone who is ambidextrous can use both their right hand and their left hand equally skilfully.

am|bi|ence /æ mbiəns/ also ambiance N‑SING The ambience of a place is the character and atmosphere that it seems to have. [LITERARY ] □ [+ of ] The overall ambience of the room is cosy.

am|bi|ent /æ mbiənt/

1 ADJ [ADJ n] The ambient temperature is the temperature of the air above the ground in a particular place. [TECHNICAL ]

2 ADJ [usu ADJ n] Ambient sound or light is the sound or light which is all around you. [TECHNICAL ] □  …ambient sounds of children in the background.

am|bi|gu|ity /æ mb I gjuː I ti/ (ambiguities ) N‑VAR If you say that there is ambiguity in something, you mean that it is unclear or confusing, or it can be understood in more than one way. □ [+ about ] There is considerable ambiguity about what this part of the agreement actually means.

am|bigu|ous /æmb I gjuəs/

1 ADJ If you describe something as ambiguous , you mean that it is unclear or confusing because it can be understood in more than one way. □  This agreement is very ambiguous and open to various interpretations. □  They may not be fully aware of what they are voting for because of ambiguous language on the ballot paper. ●  am|bigu|ous|ly ADV [usu ADV with v, oft ADV adj] □  Zaire's national conference on democracy ended ambiguously.

2 ADJ If you describe something as ambiguous , you mean that it contains several different ideas or attitudes that do not fit well together. □  Students have ambiguous feelings about their role in the world.

am|bit /æ mb I t/ N‑SING [usu with poss] The ambit of something is its range or extent. [FORMAL ] □ [+ of ] Her case falls within the ambit of moral law.

am|bi|tion ◆◇◇ /æmb I ʃ ə n/ (ambitions )

1 N‑COUNT [oft N to-inf] If you have an ambition to do or achieve something, you want very much to do it or achieve it. □  His ambition is to sail round the world. □  He harboured ambitions of becoming a Tory MP.

2 N‑UNCOUNT Ambition is the desire to be successful, rich, or powerful. □  Even when I was young I never had any ambition. SYNONYMS ambition NOUN 1

goal:The goal is to raise as much money as possible.

aim:…a research programme that has largely failed to achieve its principal aims.

target:He's won back his place too late to achieve his target of 20 goals this season.

objective:His objective was to play golf and win.

am|bi|tious /æmb I ʃəs/

1 ADJ Someone who is ambitious has a strong desire to be successful, rich, or powerful. □  Chris is so ambitious, so determined to do it all.

2 ADJ An ambitious idea or plan is on a large scale and needs a lot of work to be carried out successfully. □  The ambitious project was completed in only nine months.

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