ambition
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.
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.
to seek after earnestly; aspire to.
Origin of ambition
1Other words for ambition
Other words from ambition
- am·bi·tion·less, adjective
- am·bi·tion·less·ly, adverb
- pre·am·bi·tion, noun
- su·per·am·bi·tion, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use ambition in a sentence
He branded it a fifth-column invasion into popular culture, normalizing radical, even communist ambitions.
Glenn Beck Is Now Selling Hipster Clothes. Really. | Ana Marie Cox | December 20, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTNicki treats the obsession with her pop ambitions as an irrelevant, surface-level irritation.
Nicki Minaj Bares Her Own Vulnerability on ‘The Pinkprint’ | Rawiya Kameir | December 16, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTSo with the doors of late night closed to her, Slate had to scale down her ambitions to raise her profile.
The Curious Little Shell That Restarted Jenny Slate’s Career | Luke Hopping | December 15, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTAll Christie thinks about, according to Lesniak, is “How does this help him in his national political ambitions?”
Christie Bows to Iowa’s Pork Kings on Gestation Crates | Olivia Nuzzi | November 29, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTTo an extent, such ambitions are complementary, yet Liana is not interested in “extreme biography.”
It was not an exalted niche to fill in life, but at least she had learned to fill it to perfection, and her ambitions were modest.
Ancestors | Gertrude AthertonEven at his age he had ambitions, and expected that sometime he would, like his father, serve the king in some office.
Our Little Korean Cousin | H. Lee M. PikeThe social ambitions of the Tippetts were so definitely quenched that the indignant millionaire threatened to return to Chicago.
Ancestors | Gertrude AthertonWhen it ceased, she felt as if she had been carried away from "London," and from those old ambitions and hopes for ever.
Bella Donna | Robert HichensHe had no hopes of winning her to wife—haply no desire, since he was not a man of very great ambitions.
St. Martin's Summer | Rafael Sabatini
British Dictionary definitions for ambition
/ (æmˈbɪʃən) /
strong desire for success, achievement, or distinction
something so desired; goal; aim
Origin of ambition
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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