Dictionary.com
definitions
  • synonyms

aspire

[uh-spahyuh r]
See more synonyms for aspire on Thesaurus.com
verb (used without object), as·pired, as·pir·ing.
  1. 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.
  2. Archaic. to rise up; soar; mount; tower.
Show More

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
Related formsas·pir·er, nounas·pir·ing·ly, adverbnon·as·pir·ing, adjectiveun·as·pir·ing, adjectiveun·as·pir·ing·ly, adverb

Synonyms

See more synonyms for aspire on Thesaurus.com
1. 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 aspired

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • For a moment at least he looked like the King which he aspired to be.

    Micah Clarke

    Arthur Conan Doyle

  • If he had been fit for the high destiny he aspired to—if he had been fit to be a judge, he would not have fallen.

    The Manxman

    Hall Caine

  • It savoured of servitude to his mind, and who was this same Pippo who aspired to be his master?

    Gerald Fitzgerald

    Charles James Lever

  • I have aspired to his method, but realize it is impossible for me.

  • I did not tell you that I aspired to the honour of marrying her.

    The Memoires of Casanova, Complete

    Jacques Casanova de Seingalt

British Dictionary definitions for aspired

aspire

verb (intr)
  1. (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
  2. to rise to a great height
Show More
Derived Formsaspirer, nounaspiring, adjective

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 Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for aspired

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.

Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper