aspire

[uh-spahyuhr]

verb (used without object)

aspired, aspiring 

1. to long, aim, or seek ambitiously; be eagerly desirous, especially for something great or of high value (usually followed by to, after, or an infinitive).

   to aspire after literary immortality; to aspire to be a doctor.

   Synonyms: yearn

2. Archaic.,  to rise up; soar; mount; tower.

aspire

/ əˈspaɪə /

verb

1. to yearn (for) or have a powerful or ambitious plan, desire, or hope (to do or be something)

   to aspire to be a great leader

2. to rise to a great height

Other Word Forms

• aspirer noun
• aspiringly adverb
• nonaspiring adjective
• unaspiring adjective
• unaspiringly adverb
• aspiring adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of aspire¹

First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English, from Middle French aspirer, from Latin aspīrāre “to breathe upon, pant after,” from a- a- ⁵ + spīrāre “to breathe, blow”

Word History and Origins

Origin of aspire¹

C15: from Latin aspīrāre to breathe upon, from spīrāre to breathe

Synonym Study

See ambitious

Example Sentences

From south-eastern Nepal, the family's eldest son had pursued his studies in Kathmandu and aspired to be a civil servant.

From BBC

Or maybe it was a magazine like GQ or Vogue that set the template for who or what you aspired to be.

From Los Angeles Times

That series revolved around an aspiring comedian’s increasingly sinister encounters with an eccentric woman.

From Los Angeles Times

This fanged satire aspires to be a new “Dr. Strangelove,” and it comes pretty close.

From Los Angeles Times

“It felt like another world, so far from reach. Yet it was a life I aspired to live one day.”

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• crave 
• pursue 
• strive 
• yearn