ambitious
[am-bish-uh s]
- having ambition; eagerly desirous of achieving or obtaining success, power, wealth, a specific goal, etc.: ambitious students.
- showing or caused by ambition or an earnest desire for achievement or distinction: an ambitious attempt to break the record for number of wins in a single season.
- strongly desirous; eager: ambitious of love and approval.
- requiring exceptional effort, ability, etc.: The candidate is proposing an ambitious program for eliminating all slums.
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Origin of ambitious
Synonym study
1. Ambitious, aspiring, enterprising describe a person who wishes to rise above his or her present position or condition. The ambitious person wishes to attain worldly success, and puts forth effort toward this end: ambitious for social position. The enterprising person, interested especially in wealth, is characterized by energy and daring in undertaking projects. The aspiring person wishes to rise (mentally or spiritually) to a higher level or plane, or to attain some end above ordinary expectations.
Antonyms
1. apathetic, lackadaisical.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for ambitious
Contemporary Examples
As part of their ambitious film schedule, Marvel has cast British actor Benedict Cumberbatch to play the doctor in 2016.
The Flying Sorcery of Dr. Strange: Benedict Cumberbatch Is Marvel's Most Bizarre MagicianRich Goldstein
December 8, 2014
Without the community, the ultimate destiny of any preservation project, no matter how ambitious, will be short-lived.
Smart and ambitious, he seemed to epitomize the success of that northern migration experienced by millions of southern blacks.
‘The Prince of Chocolate City’: When Gil Scott-Heron Became A Music IconMarcus Baram
November 15, 2014
Although not his most ambitious work, this novel is a wonderful example of Johnson operating in his most readable mode.
There are precious few large-scale, ambitious, original works.
Christopher Nolan Uncut: On ‘Interstellar,’ Ben Affleck’s Batman, and the Future of MankindMarlow Stern
November 10, 2014
Historical Examples
He had not come back to woo, but as the old friend, ambitious of helpfulness.
The Bacillus of BeautyHarriet Stark
Ferdinand is the most ambitious man in Europe, false also if it serves his purpose.
Fair MargaretH. Rider Haggard
A few thousands a year is my most ambitious figure for a wife.
It Happened in EgyptC. N. Williamson
The waiting, the loneliness and the suspense were terrible to one so young, and so ambitious.
The Rock of ChickamaugaJoseph A. Altsheler
Vargrave, I am ambitious, worldly: I own it; but I could give up all for you!
Alice, or The Mysteries, CompleteEdward Bulwer-Lytton
ambitious
- having a strong desire for success or achievement; wanting power, money, etc
- necessitating extraordinary effort or abilityan ambitious project
- (often foll by of) having a great desire (for something or to do something)
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for ambitious
adj.
late 14c., from Latin ambitiosus "going around to canvass for office," from ambitio (see ambition). Related: Ambitiously.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper