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

But it remains to be seen whether this incident will affect his popularity and political ambitions.

From BBC

"Strengthening the trust both our own staff and London's communities have in the Met is a core part of our New Met for London plan and ambitions," he added.

From BBC

He closed his speech by saying Labour represented ambition and a new direction, and that he was confident the party could defy pollsters by returning to power after next year's Scottish election.

From BBC

Thanks to a breakthrough in trade talks with China, the world's biggest importer of the nutrient-rich fruit, Zimbabwe has taken a major step towards achieving its ambition of becoming Africa's blueberry capital.

From BBC

The Fourth Reich-scale ambition of this apparent Trumpian agenda is genuinely breathtaking, and the long-term consequences of this dramatic reversal of America’s relationship to the rest of the world are scarcely imaginable.

From Salon

Related Words

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