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Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary am·bi·tion \\am-ˈbi-shən\\ noun ETYMOLOGY Middle English, from Middle French or Latin; Middle French, from Latin ambition-, ambitio, literally, act of soliciting for votes, from ambire
DATE 14th century
1. a. an ardent desire for rank, fame, or power b. desire to achieve a particular end2. the object of ambition her ambition is to start her own business3. a desire for activity or exertion felt sick and had no ambition• am·bi·tion·less \\-ləs\\ adjectiveSynonyms. ambition , aspiration , pretension mean strong desire for advancement. ambition applies to the desire for personal advancement or preferment and may suggest equally a praiseworthy or an inordinate desire driven by ambition aspiration implies a striving after something higher than oneself and usually implies that the striver is thereby ennobled an aspiration to become president someday pretension suggests ardent desire for recognition of accomplishment often without actual possession of the necessary ability and therefore may imply presumption has literary pretensionstransitive verb DATE 1664
: to have as one's ambition : desire
ambition
mid-14c., from L. ambitionem (nom. ambitio) "a going around (to solicit votes)," from ambitus, pp. of ambire "to go around" (see ambient). Rarely used in the literal sense in English; the sense of "eager or inordinate desire of honor or preferment" goes back to the Latin.
Oxford Collocations Dictionary for Students of English Oxford Collocations dictionary for students of Englishambition
noun 1 strong desire to be successful ADJ. driving, great, naked She's a woman of driving ambition. | personal VERB + AMBITION have He's got little ambition. | lack AMBITION + VERB burn Ambition burned within her. 2 sth you very much want to have/do ADJ. big, burning, driving, great, high, main, overriding, ultimate Her biggest ambition was to climb Everest. | lifelong, life's, longstanding At last he had realized his life's ambition. | modest | personal | secret | youthful | frustrated, thwarted, unfulfilled This is a tale of jealousy and thwarted ambitions. | career, imperial/imperialist, literary, political, presidential, social, sporting, territorial VERB + AMBITION cherish, harbour, have, nurture He had only one ambition in life. | abandon, give up | achieve, fulfil, realize | limit, restrain | frustrate, thwart He felt great resentment at having his ambition frustrated. Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary-牛津双解-OALD7 ☞ ambition
am·bi·tion / Am5biFn / noun~ (to be / do sth) | ~ (of being / doing sth)
1. [C] something that you want to do or achieve very much
追求的目标；夙愿:
She never achieved her ambition of becoming a famous writer.
她一直未能实现当名作家的夙愿。
His burning ambition was to study medicine.
他梦寐以求的是学医。
It had been her lifelong ambition.
这是她终身追求的目标。
political / literary / sporting ambitions
政治抱负；文学夙愿；运动目标
2. [U] the desire or determination to be successful, rich, powerful, etc.
野心；雄心；志向；抱负:
motivated by personal ambition
为个人野心所驱使
She was intelligent but suffered from a lack of ambition.
她很聪明,但却缺乏远大志向。
ambition noun
⇨ ambition (a woman of driving ambition) ⇨ hope 2 (achieve your ambition) Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged am·bi·tionI. \amˈbishən, aam-\ noun( -s) Etymology: Middle English ambicioun, from Middle French or Latin; Middle French ambition, from Latin ambition-, ambitio soliciting of votes, desire for honor or power, literally, going around, from ambitus (past participle of ambire to go around, solicit, strive for) + -ion-, -io -ion — more at ambient 1. a. : an ardent desire for rank, fame, or power < his ruin was that ambition … had laid hold of him — Thomas Carlyle > b. : the will or desire to succeed or achieve a particular goal or end : aspiration < it was her ambition for me which proved the deciding factor — David Fairchild >2. : the object of one's desire < accomplished its curious ambition of breaking into and robbing the state prison — Dixon Wecter >3. : a desire for activity or exertion : initiative , energy < I felt no ambition when I was under the weather for a few days — S.T.Byington >4. chiefly Midland : ill will , spite , malice II. transitive verb( ambitioned ; ambitioned ; ambitioning \-sh(ə)niŋ\ ; ambitions) : to have as one's ambition : desire < I never ambitioned it — Augusta Gregory >
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