ambition

Meaning

Noun

1. (countable, uncountable) Eager or inordinate desire for some object that confers distinction, as preferment, honor, superiority, political power, or fame; desire to distinguish one's self from other people.
2. (countable) An object of an ardent desire.
3. (countable, uncountable) A desire, as in (sense 1), for another person to achieve these things.
4. (uncountable) A personal quality similar to motivation, not necessarily tied to a single goal.
5. (countable, obsolete, uncountable) The act of going about to solicit or obtain an office, or any other object of desire; canvassing.

Verb

To seek after ambitiously or eagerly; to covet.

Synonyms

aspiration

desire

wish

dream

😴💭

eagerness

inclination

ardor

fancy

itch

keenness

ardour

hope

ambitiousness

will

drive

pretension

want

love of power

yearning

lust

designs

congratulation

purpose

treachery

resolve

avarice

goal

longing

profit

project

rapaciousness

selfishness

self-love

spirit

striving

thought

💭

voluntarily

voraciousness

wishing

desire to improve oneself

inordinate ambition

Buddha’s great vow

over-ambition

lech after

status seeking

overambitiousness

aim

big hope

ambitions

amour-propre

Translations

ambition

ambición

ambizione

ambição

Ehrgeiz

Ambition

désir

desiderio

pretensão

Wunsch

arzu

desig

Lust

begeerte

Pronounced as (IPA)

/æmˈbɪʃ.ən/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: ambicioun

In summary

From Middle English ambicioun, from Old French ambition, from Latin ambitiō (“ambition, a striving for favor, literally 'a going around', especially of candidates for office in Rome soliciting votes”), from ambiō (“I go around, solicit votes”). See ambient, issue.