ambitious

[ am-bish-uhs ]

adjective

1. having ambition; eagerly desirous of achieving or obtaining success, power, wealth, a specific goal, etc.:

   The school is known for its ambitious students.

   Antonyms: lackadaisical, apathetic

2. showing or caused by ambition or an earnest desire for achievement or distinction:

   This season saw an ambitious attempt to break the record for number of wins in a single season.

3. strongly desirous; eager:

   It is common for children to be ambitious of love and approval.

4. requiring exceptional effort, ability, etc.:

   The candidate is proposing an ambitious program for eliminating all slums.

ambitious

/ æmˈbɪʃəs /

adjective

1. having a strong desire for success or achievement; wanting power, money, etc
2. necessitating extraordinary effort or ability

   an ambitious project

3. often foll by of having a great desire (for something or to do something)

Derived Forms

• amˈbitiously, adverb
• amˈbitiousness, noun

Other Words From

• am·bitious·ly adverb
• am·bitious·ness noun
• nonam·bitious adjective
• nonam·bitious·ly adverb
• nonam·bitious·ness noun
• over·am·bitious adjective
• over·am·bitious·ly adverb
• over·am·bitious·ness noun
• unam·bitious adjective
• unam·bitious·ly adverb
• unam·bitious·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of ambitious¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin ambitiōsus, equivalent to ambiti(ō) ambition + -ōsus -ous

Synonym Study

Ambitious, aspiring, enterprising describe a person who wishes to rise above their present position or condition. The ambitious person wishes to attain worldly success, and puts forth effort toward this end: ambitious for social position. The enterprising person, interested especially in wealth, is characterized by energy and daring in undertaking projects. The aspiring person wishes to rise (mentally or spiritually) to a higher level or plane, or to attain some end above ordinary expectations.

Example Sentences

It’s the most ambitious antitrust move by U.S. regulators in a generation.

From New York Times

Everything about this ambitious, sweeping epic feels precisely calibrated, revealing the story of a Hungarian architect immigrating to America after WWII, a man chasing the American dream and finding it elusive and poisonous.

From Los Angeles Times

Washington currently stars as Macrinus, an ambitious arms dealer, in "Gladiator II"

From Salon

An ambitious plan to map all 37 trillion cells in the human body is transforming understanding of how our bodies work, scientists report.

From BBC

The UK government said it had "ambitious plans to improve animal welfare".

From BBC

Related Words

• arduous
• bold
• challenging
• demanding
• difficult
• energetic
• grandiose
• impressive
• visionary