aspire
[uh-spahyuhr]
- to long, aim, or seek ambitiously; be eagerly desirous, especially for something great or of high value (usually followed by to, after, or an infinitive): to aspire after literary immortality; to aspire to be a doctor.
- Archaic. to rise up; soar; mount; tower.
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Origin of aspire
1425–75; late Middle English (< Middle French aspirer) < Latin aspīrāre to breathe upon, pant after, equivalent to a- a-5 + spīrāre to breathe, blow
Synonyms
See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.com1. yearn.
Synonym study
1. See ambitious
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for aspire
Contemporary Examples
Most bands these days aspire to reproduce their recordings on stage as faithfully as possible.
If we aspire to that personally and legislate for it publicly, the ugliness will dissipate.
It is not a pretty city, in the conventional western understanding of a pretty city, and it does not want or aspire to be.
Now Aspire wants an alternative, and is bringing five black women together for a good gab.
Saying “no” is a crucial prophylactic for cities that aspire to keep their politics clean.
Historical Examples
She could not aspire to be one of them, but she could be loyal, she could "stick up" for them.
Pee-wee HarrisPercy Keese Fitzhugh
Man cannot aspire if he look down; if he will rise, he must look up.
Self-HelpSamuel Smiles
Why should you aspire to pluck the flower which has grown up amongst us?
Micah ClarkeArthur Conan Doyle
We aspire to the top to look for Rest; it lies at the bottom.
Pax VobiscumHenry Drummond
Pride and ambition had led him to aspire to the crown which was settled on Shaddai's Son.
BunyanJames Anthony Froude
aspire
- (usually foll by to or after) to yearn (for) or have a powerful or ambitious plan, desire, or hope (to do or be something)to aspire to be a great leader
- to rise to a great height
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Word Origin
C15: from Latin aspīrāre to breathe upon, from spīrāre to breathe
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for aspire
v.
"to strive for," c.1400, from Old French aspirer "aspire to; inspire; breathe, breathe on" (12c.), from Latin aspirare "to breathe upon, to breathe," also, in transferred senses, "to be favorable to, assist; to climb up to, to endeavor to obtain, to reach to, to seek to reach; infuse," from ad- "to" (see ad-) + spirare "to breathe" (see spirit (n.)). The notion is of "panting with desire," or perhaps of rising smoke. Related: Aspired; aspiring.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper