ambitious
having ambition; eagerly desirous of achieving or obtaining success, power, wealth, a specific goal, etc.: The school is known for its ambitious students.
showing or caused by ambition or an earnest desire for achievement or distinction: This season saw an ambitious attempt to break the record for number of wins in a single season.
strongly desirous; eager: It is common for children to be ambitious of love and approval.
requiring exceptional effort, ability, etc.: The candidate is proposing an ambitious program for eliminating all slums.
Origin of ambitious
1synonym study For ambitious
Opposites for ambitious
Other words from ambitious
- am·bi·tious·ly, adverb
- am·bi·tious·ness, noun
- non·am·bi·tious, adjective
- non·am·bi·tious·ly, adverb
- non·am·bi·tious·ness, noun
- o·ver·am·bi·tious, adjective
- o·ver·am·bi·tious·ly, adverb
- o·ver·am·bi·tious·ness, noun
- un·am·bi·tious, adjective
- un·am·bi·tious·ly, adverb
- un·am·bi·tious·ness, noun
Words Nearby ambitious
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use ambitious in a sentence
Last week, IBM announced an ambitious road map for development of its quantum computers that may see machines capable enough for these kinds of solutions by the end of the decade.
Startup debuts software to help any company use ‘quantum algorithms’ | Jeremy Kahn | September 24, 2020 | FortuneWhen Karen Leibowitz and Anthony Myint opened The Perennial, the most ambitious and expensive restaurant of their careers, it was essentially on a self-dare.
This restaurant duo want a zero-carbon food system. Can it happen? | Bobbie Johnson | September 24, 2020 | MIT Technology ReviewThey have been fueled by people wanting to be a part of something ambitious, and even a little bit dangerous.
Climate action: Fear hasn’t motivated people, so let’s get them excited | matthewheimer | September 22, 2020 | FortuneIt molded me into the wife and mother who lives life on her terms, who is an equal partner in marriage, who gets to be ambitious and nurturing, strong and vulnerable, all at the same time.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s passing feels like millions of women have lost their bubbie | jakemeth | September 22, 2020 | FortuneWhat the pandemic hasn’t done is stop creative, ambitious business leaders from figuring out ways to fix what’s broken, heal the sick, and clean up the planet.
What it will take to beat COVID: Some clues from our 2020 Change the World list | cleaf2013 | September 21, 2020 | Fortune
This is a Hollywood director at the height of his powers creating original, wildly ambitious epics.
Oscars 2015: The Daily Beast’s Picks, From Scarlett Johansson to ‘Boyhood’ | Marlow Stern | January 6, 2015 | THE DAILY BEAST“We broke off shortly after because we were more ambitious,” says Lean.
The Cult of Yung Lean: ‘I’m Building An Anarchistic Society From the Ground Up’ | Marlow Stern | January 4, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTThe Facebook co-founder and his politically ambitious husband embodied all the attributes of a bona fide “gay power couple.”
The Rise and Fall of Chris Hughes and Sean Eldridge, America’s Worst Gay Power Couple | James Kirchick | December 9, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTAs 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 Magician | Rich Goldstein | December 8, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTSailor Moon Crystal is a more ambitious retelling of multiple Sailor Moon story arcs.
‘Sailor Moon’ Is an Oasis for Superheroes Who Can Save the Universe in Heels | Rich Goldstein | November 26, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST“Chaplet”—a wreath or garland signed for by him in his ambitious hopes—expresses his birth-date by Con.
Assimilative Memory | Marcus Dwight Larrowe (AKA Prof. A. Loisette)Gascony has ever been the mother of ambitious men, and many a ruler has she supplied to France.
Napoleon's Marshals | R. P. Dunn-PattisonAnd there may be other works whose abstracts are available to the ambitious student.
Assimilative Memory | Marcus Dwight Larrowe (AKA Prof. A. Loisette)Yes, on the whole, I was more fortunate than had my ambitious hopes been realised to the full.
Fifty Years of Railway Life in England, Scotland and Ireland | Joseph TatlowHe is not worshipped in any temple, having lost this prerogative on account of his ambitious desire to find out the Supreme Being.
A Woman's Journey Round the World | Ida Pfeiffer
British Dictionary definitions for ambitious
/ (æmˈbɪʃəs) /
having a strong desire for success or achievement; wanting power, money, etc
necessitating extraordinary effort or ability: an ambitious project
(often foll by of) having a great desire (for something or to do something)
Derived forms of ambitious
- ambitiously, adverb
- ambitiousness, noun
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
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