aspirant
Americannoun
adjective
noun
adjective
Etymology
Origin of aspirant
First recorded in 1730–40; from French or directly from Latin aspīrant- (stem of aspīrāns, present participle of aspīrāre ); see origin at aspire, -ant
Explanation
Ambition is the name of the game for an aspirant, a young person who sets her sights on rising to the top in her chosen field. Every young person who wishes on a star for fame and fortune is an aspirant. Used mostly as a noun, the word also works as an adjective — describing the desire to move up the corporate ladder, to receive national recognition for saving the world, or to achieve success on the Broadway stage — whatever one aspires to: "The aspirant dancer had to start her career as an understudy to the prima ballerina."
Vocabulary lists containing aspirant
Vocabulary from "John L. O'Sullivan on 'Manifest Destiny' " from 1839
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An Ember in the Ashes
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Vocabulary Video Contest (2013) - List 3
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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.
Aspirant comedians shouldn't squander months in publishing houses.
From The Guardian • Jan. 9, 2011
At 40, Presidential Aspirant Harold Stassen is a complex human being.
From Time Magazine Archive
Senate candidate and favorite-son choice for President, Herschel Loveless was avidly courted by White House Aspirant Jack Kennedy, had every reason to hope he would be Kennedy's selection as vice-presidential running mate.
From Time Magazine Archive
When Vice-Presidential Aspirant Huynh Cong Duong conceded that he did not claim to be smart, a young man in the crowd asked him, "Then why are you running for Vice President?"
From Time Magazine Archive
A second later, cool night air pours into my room, and I drag my eyes open to see Aspirant Aquilla silhouetted in the door.
From "An Ember in the Ashes" by Sabaa Tahir
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.
