Meanings
plural ambitions
- countableuncountableEager 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.
My daughter, Johanna, wants to be a firefighter very much. She has a lot of ambition.
3 more examples
The third part of practice hath divers branches, but one principal root in these our times, which is the vast and overspreading ambition and usurpation of the see of Rome; […]
a. 1627 (date written), Francis Bacon, chapter VII, in James Spedding, editor, The Works of Francis Bacon, […]: The Letters and the Life of Francis Bacon […], volume IV, London: Longmans, Green, Reader, and Dyer, published 1858, →OCLC, page 270One is aſtoniſhed hovv ſuch a ſmall ſpot could furniſh Men ſufficient to ſacrifice to the pitiful Ambition of poſſeſſing five or ſix thouſand more Acres, or tvvo or three more Villages: […]
1756, [Edmund Burke], A Vindication of Natural Society: Or, A View of the Miseries and Evils Arising to Mankind from Every Species of Artificial Society. […], London: […] M. Cooper […], →OCLC, page 20Ambition makes you look pretty ugly / Kicking, squealing, Gucci little piggy
1997, “Paranoid Android”, in OK Computer, performed by Radiohead - countableAn object of an ardent desire.
My ambition is to own a helicopter.
- countableuncountableA desire, as in (sense 1), for another person to achieve these things.
- uncountableA personal quality similar to motivation, not necessarily tied to a single goal.
- countableobsoleteuncountableThe act of going about to solicit or obtain an office, or any other object of desire; canvassing.
I on th' other ſide / Us'd no ambition to commend my deeds, […]
1671, John Milton, “Samson Agonistes, […].”, in Paradise Regain’d. A Poem. In IV Books. To which is Added, Samson Agonistes, London: […] J[ohn] M[acock] for John Starkey […], →OCLC, page 22
present singular third person ambitions · participle present ambitioning · participle past ambitioned · past ambitioned
- To seek after ambitiously or eagerly; to covet.
Pausanias, ambitioning the sovereignty of Greece, bargains with Xerxes for his daughter in marriage.
1746, C Turnbull, The Histories Of Marcus Junianus Justinus
Synonyms & antonyms
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*h₂ent-
- Proto-Indo-European*h₂énts?
- Proto-Indo-European*h₂m̥bʰí
- Proto-Italic*amβi-
- Latinambi-
- Proto-Indo-European*h₁ey-
- Proto-Indo-European*h₁éyti
- Proto-Italic*ejō
- Proto-Italic*eō
- Latineō
- Latinambiō
- Latinambitiō
- Old Frenchambition
- Middle Englishambicioun
- Englishambition
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 (“to go around, solicit votes”). See ambient, issue. By surface analysis, ambit + -ion.
More words from Middle English, Old French, Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic مَطْمَح
- مَطْمَح (maṭmaḥ)desire
Bulgarian амби́ция, честолю́бие
- амби́ция (ambícija)desire
- честолю́бие (čestoljúbie)desire
Catalan ambició, ambició
- ambiciópersonal quality
- ambiciódesire
- ambicióobject of desire
Chinese Mandarin 奢望, 奢望
- 奢望 (shēwàng)personal quality
- 奢望 (shēwàng)desire
- 抱負 /抱负 (bàofù)desire
- 志向 (zhìxiang)desire
- 志氣 /志气 (zhìqì)desire
- 志向 (zhìxiàng)object of desire
Czech ctižádost, ctižádost
- ctižádostpersonal quality
- ctižádostdesire
- ambicedesire
- ctižádostobject of desire
- ambiceobject of desire
Danish ambition
- ambitiondesire
Dutch eerzucht, ambitie
- eerzuchtdesire
- ambitiedesire
Esperanto gloramo, ambicio
- gloramodesire
- ambiciodesire
Finnish aloitekyky, yritys
- aloitekykypersonal quality
- yritysact of going about to solicit or obtain an object of desire
- pyrkimysact of going about to solicit or obtain an object of desire
- kunnianhimodesire
- intohimoobject of desire
French ambition
- ambitiondesire
German Ehrgeiz
- Ehrgeizdesire
Greek φιλοδοξία
- φιλοδοξία (filodoxía)desire
Hungarian ambíció, igyekezet
- ambíciópersonal quality
- igyekezetpersonal quality
- törekvéspersonal quality
- ambíciódesire
- becsvágydesire
- nagyravágyásdesire
- nagyratörésdesire
- célobject of desire
- vágyobject of desire
Icelandic metnaður
- metnaðurdesire
Indonesian ambisi
- ambisidesire
Italian ambizione
- ambizionepersonal quality
Japanese 野望, 野心
- 野望 (yabō)personal quality
- 野心 (yashin)personal quality
- 野望 (yabō)desire
- 野心 (yashin)desire
Korean 야망, 야심
- 야망 (yamang)desire
- 야심 (yasim)desire
Latin ambitiō
- ambitiōdesire
Latvian godkāre
- godkāredesire
Malay kesungguhan
- kesungguhandesire
Māori awhero, hemonga
- awherodesire
- hemongaobject of desire
Persian اشتیاق, اشتیاق
- اشتیاق (eštiyâq)personal quality
- اشتیاق (eštiyâq)desire
- خواهش (xâheš)desire
- آرزو (ârezu)object of desire
Polish ambicja, ambicja
- ambicjapersonal quality
- ambicjadesire
Portuguese ambição, ambição
- ambiçãopersonal quality
- ambiçãodesire
- ambiçãoobject of desire
Russian амби́ция, честолю́бие
- амби́ция (ambícija)personal quality
- честолю́бие (čestoljúbije)personal quality
- амби́ция (ambícija)desire
- цель (celʹ)object of desire
- мечта́ (mečtá)object of desire
Spanish ambición, ambición
- ambicióndesire for another person to achieve these things
- ambiciónpersonal quality
- ambicióndesire
- ambiciónobject of desire
Swedish ambitionsnivå, ambition
- ambitionsnivåpersonal quality
- ambitiondesire
- ambitionobject of desire
Ukrainian амбі́ція, честолю́бство
- амбі́ція (ambícija)personal quality
- честолю́бство (čestoljúbstvo)personal quality
- амбі́ція (ambícija)desire
Cite this entry
ambition. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ambition
“ambition.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ambition. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “ambition,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ambition.
Source: ambition on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.