aspiring

[ uh-spahyer-ing ]

/ əˈspaɪər ɪŋ /

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See synonyms for aspiring on Thesaurus.com

adjective

eagerly or ambitiously aiming for a particular career, title, social status, etc.: an aspiring composer; a team of aspiring gold medalists.

QUIZ

CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?

There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?

Question 1 of 7

Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Origin of aspiring

First recorded in 1575–1595; aspire + -ing²

synonym study for aspiring

See ambitious.

OTHER WORDS FROM aspiring

as·pir·ing·ly, adverbnon·as·pir·ing, adjectiveun·as·pir·ing, adjectiveun·as·pir·ing·ly, adverb

Words nearby aspiring

aspirational, aspirator, aspiratory, aspire, aspirin, aspiring, asplanchnic, asplenium, sporting chance, a, asprawl, aspro

How to use aspiring in a sentence

So LaPorta, a former pre-med student and onetime aspiring veterinarian at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale argued with Kelly.
Before off-duty police shooting, Chicago officer had long complaint record. Should the city pay?|Robert Klemko|September 22, 2021|Washington Post
She said she met Kelly in 2015, when she was a 17-year-old aspiring R&B singer, and that she went to live with him in Chicago and Atlanta before graduating.
An R. Kelly accuser says he controlled her CBS News interview. Here’s what else to know about his trial.|Sonia Rao|August 25, 2021|Washington Post
Thirty percent were casual or aspiring sports bettors, saying they’d bet some in their state if it was legal but they weren’t going to bet illegally.
The NFL once viewed sports betting as a threat. Now the league wants the action.|Ben Strauss, Mark Maske|August 25, 2021|Washington Post
Her mother, the former Mable Atlee, was an aspiring writer who headed west from Michigan in the early 1900s to teach.
Beverly Cleary, beloved author who chronicled schoolyard scrapes and feisty kids, dies at 104|Harrison Smith, Becky Krystal|March 26, 2021|Washington Post

“They tried to make him look like the bad guy,” said Holley, who remembered her younger brother as a popular athlete who won awards in high school track and field and an aspiring model.
The first state to pass a law protecting police accused of misconduct may also be the first to repeal it.|Ovetta Wiggins|February 9, 2021|Washington Post
That Huckabee is mentioned in the same sentence with other aspiring conservative governors, especially Bobby Jindal, is laughable.
Why This Liberal Hearts Huckabee|Sally Kohn|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
For many aspiring comedians, earning a place on SNL is their entire raison d'être.
The Curious Little Shell That Restarted Jenny Slate’s Career|Luke Hopping|December 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Not about encouraging aspiring butchers to live out their violent fantasies in Syria.
The Scared Widdle Kitty of ISIS|Jacob Siegel|December 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Great for the aspiring Quentin Tarantino, or for the aspiring next Feiffer.
The Best Gift Books of 2014|William O’Connor|December 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
This is not lost on their commander, Rama (Shani Klein), an aspiring military careerist who looks down on frivolity in wartime.
‘Zero Motivation’: the Funny Side of the IDF|Melissa Leon|December 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The universal ignorance of the working class broke down the aspiring force of genius.
The Unsolved Riddle of Social Justice|Stephen Leacock
A woman with such capabilities would be wasted in the rle of a mere countess—but as the wife of an aspiring Liberal statesman!
Ancestors|Gertrude Atherton
Beauty was there; but it was the beauty of sadness; it was the crushed ruin of what might once have been bright and aspiring.
The Pastor's Fire-side Vol. 3 of 4|Jane Porter
Throw your knowledge into compositions of a less startling, less aspiring character.
The Ladies' Book of Etiquette, and Manual of Politeness|Florence Hartley
Yet, even against such accumulated disasters and disgraces, his vigorous and aspiring mind bore up.
The History of England from the Accession of James II.|Thomas Babington Macaulay