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View synonyms for ambitious

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)
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


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Derived Forms

  • amˈbitiously, adverb
  • amˈbitiousness, noun
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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
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Word History and Origins

Origin of ambitious1

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

Last week, IBM announced an ambitious road map for development of its quantum computers that may see machines capable enough for these kinds of solutions by the end of the decade.

From Fortune

When Karen Leibowitz and Anthony Myint opened The Perennial, the most ambitious and expensive restaurant of their careers, it was essentially on a self-dare.

They have been fueled by people wanting to be a part of something ambitious, and even a little bit dangerous.

From Fortune

It molded me into the wife and mother who lives life on her terms, who is an equal partner in marriage, who gets to be ambitious and nurturing, strong and vulnerable, all at the same time.

From Fortune

What the pandemic hasn’t done is stop creative, ambitious business leaders from figuring out ways to fix what’s broken, heal the sick, and clean up the planet.

From Fortune

This is a Hollywood director at the height of his powers creating original, wildly ambitious epics.

“We broke off shortly after because we were more ambitious,” says Lean.

The Facebook co-founder and his politically ambitious husband embodied all the attributes of a bona fide “gay power couple.”

As part of their ambitious film schedule, Marvel has cast British actor Benedict Cumberbatch to play the doctor in 2016.

Sailor Moon Crystal is a more ambitious retelling of multiple Sailor Moon story arcs.

“Chaplet”—a wreath or garland signed for by him in his ambitious hopes—expresses his birth-date by Con.

Gascony has ever been the mother of ambitious men, and many a ruler has she supplied to France.

And there may be other works whose abstracts are available to the ambitious student.

Yes, on the whole, I was more fortunate than had my ambitious hopes been realised to the full.

He is not worshipped in any temple, having lost this prerogative on account of his ambitious desire to find out the Supreme Being.

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ambitionambivalence