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 Word Forms

• ambitionless adjective
• ambitionlessly adverb
• preambition noun
• superambition 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

Brazil's Petrobras said Monday it has permission to drill for oil near the mouth of the Amazon River, casting a shadow over the country's green ambitions as it prepares to host UN climate talks.

Read more on Barron's

European ministers urged maximum ambition in the talks to help mitigate the impact of trade wars elsewhere in the world.

Read more on BBC

In a speech, a Chinese government official was explicit about Beijing’s ambitions, saying it wanted to “strengthen China’s control over global rare earth resources,” according to state media.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

But ambition can be a very slippery slope.

Read more on BBC

For too long, the debate over climate change has been framed as a battle between denial and ambition, between doing nothing and doing everything.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

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