ambition
Americannoun
-
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
-
the object, state, or result desired or sought after.
The crown was his ambition.
-
desire for work or activity; energy.
I awoke feeling tired and utterly lacking in ambition.
verb (used with object)
noun
-
strong desire for success, achievement, or distinction
-
something so desired; goal; aim
Other Word Forms
- ambitionless adjective
- ambitionlessly adverb
- preambition noun
- superambition noun
Etymology
Origin of ambition
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
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.
“War obviously has the potential to scare away the investors and tourists who are increasingly central to the economic ambitions of Gulf states,” said Ratney, the former U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia.
So too soft targets such as desalination plants or the data centers that are integral to the region’s AI ambitions.
From Barron's
So too soft targets such as desalination plants or the data centers that are integral to the region’s AI ambitions.
From Barron's
That ambition is a concern to Persian Gulf states whose cosmopolitan cities and key oil infrastructure sit just across the water from Iran.
And as McCartney’s post-Beatles renaissance reveals, harnessing his ambitions has made all the difference.
From Salon
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.
