ambition

[ am-bish-uhn ]

noun

1. an earnest desire for some type of achievement or distinction, as power, honor, fame, or wealth, and the willingness to strive for its attainment:

   Too much ambition caused him to be disliked by his colleagues.

   Synonyms: longing, yearning, aspiration

2. the object, state, or result desired or sought after:

   The crown was his ambition.

   Synonyms: aim, goal

3. desire for work or activity; energy:

   I awoke feeling tired and utterly lacking in ambition.

   Synonyms: force, drive

verb (used with object)

1. to seek after earnestly; aspire to.

ambition

/ æmˈbɪʃən /

noun

1. strong desire for success, achievement, or distinction
2. something so desired; goal; aim

Other Words From

• am·bition·less adjective
• am·bition·less·ly adverb
• pream·bition noun
• super·am·bition noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of ambition¹

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English ambicio(u)n, from Middle French or directly from Latin ambitiōn- (stem of ambitiō ), equivalent to amb- ambi- + -i- “go” + -t- past participle suffix + -iōn- -ion

Word History and Origins

Origin of ambition¹

C14: from Old French, from Latin ambitiō a going round (of candidates), a striving to please, from ambīre to go round; see ambit

Example Sentences

As the new administration is assembled and minds start to turn to how to realise Trump’s ambition, the former foreign minister believes one overriding factor will drive policy.

From BBC

Removing the safeguard would thus help advance Biden’s climate ambitions, while leaving Chinese solar cells and modules subject to several other, more targeted U.S. trade restrictions.

From Los Angeles Times

“If we do not get ambition on mitigation, then everything else fails,” said Eamon Ryan, Ireland’s minister for the environment, speaking to journalists.

From BBC

He has also been linked to the Brazil job over the past few weeks and it is known Guardiola's ambition is to one day manage a national side.

From BBC

What they talk about instead is a much more modest ambition of making it harder to cross borders without the right paperwork, reducing the number who do so and disrupting the people smugglers.

From BBC

Related Words

• appetite
• aspiration
• desire
• energy
• enthusiasm
• hope
• initiative
• longing
• love
• lust
• passion
• pretension
• spirit
• vigor
• yearning
• zeal