HOW TO PRONOUNCE
ambition
/æmˈbɪʃ.ən/
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American Pronunciation Guide · 1:03
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What does ambition mean?
noun
- 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.
- An object of an ardent desire.
- A desire, as in (sense 1), for another person to achieve these things.
More meanings (3)
noun
- A personal quality similar to motivation, not necessarily tied to a single goal.
- (obsolete) 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.
Definitions regrouped for readability · CC BY-SA 4.0
IPA pronunciation
/æmˈbɪʃ.ən/
Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 ↗Pronunciation varies by speaker and region. About these dictionary pronunciations.
In the pages of books
See this word in context.
New worlds of thought, feeling, and ambition, fresh, fascinating fields of unexplored knowledge seemed to be opening out before Anne’s eager eyes.
He was a fluent and brilliant writer, and cherished the ambition of writing works, “which the world would not willingly let die.”
More book examples (3)
It causes mental sluggishness, dissipates the power-of-concentration, weakens the power of will, destroys ambition and stands between the sufferer and an education.
We have but one life to live here, and to get the cheapest things out of it is a rather poor ambition.
What one of a thousand ever frames the abstract ideas of GLORY and AMBITION, before he has heard the names of them?