aspirant
Americannoun
adjective
noun
adjective
Etymology
Origin of aspirant
First recorded in 1730–40; from French or directly from Latin aspīrant- (stem of aspīrāns, present participle of aspīrāre ); see origin at aspire, -ant
Explanation
Ambition is the name of the game for an aspirant, a young person who sets her sights on rising to the top in her chosen field. Every young person who wishes on a star for fame and fortune is an aspirant. Used mostly as a noun, the word also works as an adjective — describing the desire to move up the corporate ladder, to receive national recognition for saving the world, or to achieve success on the Broadway stage — whatever one aspires to: "The aspirant dancer had to start her career as an understudy to the prima ballerina."
Vocabulary lists containing aspirant
Vocabulary from "John L. O'Sullivan on 'Manifest Destiny' " from 1839
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An Ember in the Ashes
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Vocabulary Video Contest (2013) - List 3
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Aspirant comedians shouldn't squander months in publishing houses.
From The Guardian • Jan. 9, 2011
At 51 he is a bald, rugged six-footer who looks not unlike Presidential Aspirant Robert Alphonso Taft.
From Time Magazine Archive
Presidential Aspirant Barry Goldwater�and there is likely to be an outcry in Congress for more funds.
From Time Magazine Archive
At 40, Presidential Aspirant Harold Stassen is a complex human being.
From Time Magazine Archive
What is an Aspirant doing at a Moon Festival?
From "An Ember in the Ashes" by Sabaa Tahir
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
