ambitious

adjective

am·​bi·​tious am-ˈbi-shəs 

1

a

: having or controlled by ambition : having a desire to be successful, powerful, or famous

an ambitious young executive

b

: having a desire to achieve a particular goal : aspiring

ambitious for power

2

: resulting from, characterized by, or showing ambition

an ambitious film

ambitiously adverb

ambitiousness noun

Synonyms

• aspiring
• go-getting
• hard-driving
• pushing
• self-seeking

Examples of ambitious in a Sentence

The company was created by two very ambitious young men in the early 1900s.

This 500-page book is her most ambitious effort yet.

Your plans for the future are very ambitious.

It was too ambitious a task for just one person.

Recent Examples on the Web

This intensive research helps weed out goals that are genuinely unrealistic or, while ambitious, are already being solved by the market. —Dev Patnaik, Forbes.com, 19 May 2025

At a 1956 meeting with a research director at the U.S. Weather Bureau (a precursor to the National Weather Service), Keeling made an ambitious pitch: continuously monitoring CO2 using a gas analyzer, a high-tech but as-yet-unproven tool for the job. —Ashley Braun, Smithsonian Magazine, 19 May 2025

But this focus on AI might mark its most ambitious pivot yet. —Shannon Carroll, Quartz, 19 May 2025

Yet much larger and more ambitious clinical trials in humans are needed, Chassaing added. —David Hilzenrath, CNN Money, 19 May 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English ambicious "overweening, craving," borrowed from Middle French & Latin; Middle French ambicieus "striving for success, seeking glory," borrowed from Latin ambitiōsus "anxious to win favor, eager for advancement," from ambitiō "act of soliciting for votes, desire for advancement" + -ōsus -ous — more at ambition entry 1

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing ambitious

• ambitious for

Rhymes for ambitious

• adventitious
• cementitious
• expeditious
• inauspicious
• injudicious
• meretricious
• repetitious
• superstitious
• surreptitious
• unambitious
• unpropitious
• unsuspicious

Kids Definition

ambitious

adjective

am·​bi·​tious am-ˈbish-əs 

1

: controlled by or having ambition

ambitious to be captain of the team

2

: showing ambition

an ambitious plan

ambitiously adverb