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

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

Bellamy describes himself as a "greedy" coach - forever demanding more from his players, his staff and himself - and there is no doubting his ambitions.

From BBC

Lawrence Stroll has masterminded a series of developments at Aston Martin that underline his ambition for the team to become title contenders.

From BBC

Alfie, who hopes make a living from woodworking when he is older, said he had big ambitions for his future.

From BBC

Related Words

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