ambidextrous
/'æmbi'dekstə/
Definition
- Adjective:
- Equally skillful with each hand: Having the ability to use both the right and left hands with equal ease and proficiency.
- Marked by deliberate deceptiveness: Characterized by hypocrisy or duplicity; pretending to have one set of feelings or principles while acting under the influence of another.
Examples of Usage
Adjective (Physical Skill):
- The ambidextrous surgeon could perform intricate tasks with either hand.
- He is ambidextrous and can write legibly with both his left and right hands.
Adjective (Deceptiveness):
- She was accused of being ambidextrous in her dealings, saying one thing to her colleagues and another to her superiors.
- The politician's ambidextrous nature made it difficult to trust his promises.
Advanced Usage
- In a literal, physical sense: This is the most common modern usage, describing a person's physical ability.
- Ambidexterity is a valuable trait for baseball switch-hitters.
- In a figurative, often archaic or literary sense: This usage implies cunning, deceit, or double-dealing.
- His ambidextrous loyalties during the conflict were finally exposed.
Variants and Related Words
- Ambidexterity (noun): The quality or state of being ambidextrous.
- Her ambidexterity gave her an advantage in playing tennis.
- Ambidextrously (adverb): In an ambidextrous manner.
- He signed the document ambidextrously, astonishing the witnesses.
Synonyms
- For physical skill: Two-handed.
- For deceptiveness: Duplicitous, double-dealing, two-faced, deceitful, hypocritical.
Related Phrases
- Ambidextrous culture (specialized term): In anthropology, a culture that does not assign specific tasks to a particular hand.
- Ambidextrous organization (business term): A company equally adept at managing current operations (exploitation) and innovating for the future (exploration).
Notes on Meaning
The word has two distinct meanings. The primary contemporary meaning relates to physical handedness. The secondary meaning, relating to deceit, is now less common and often considered dated or literary. When used in modern contexts without clarification, it is typically understood in its physical sense. The connection between the two meanings lies in the Latin roots (ambi- meaning "both" and dexter meaning "right" or "favorable"), suggesting skill or favor on "both sides," which extended metaphorically to duplicity.
Adjective
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marked by deliberate deceptiveness especially by pretending one set of feelings and acting under the influence of another
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she was a deceitful scheming little thing- Israel Zangwill
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a double-dealing double agent
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a double-faced infernal traitor and schemer- W.M.Thackeray
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equally skillful with each hand
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an ambidextrous surgeon
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