overambitious
adjective
over·am·bi·tious
ˌō-vər-am-ˈbi-shəs 
: excessively ambitious
The reforms of the Great Society succeeded in markedly reducing poverty, although they fell short of President Lyndon B. Johnson's overambitious goals.—
Dennis H. Wrong
Dennis H. WrongDr. Godfrey, who has seen more than his share of the fallout from overambitious exercise programs, advises against jumping and pounding exercises for people over 50 …—Jane E. Brody
Jane E. Brody… NASA's original plans for the shuttle were overambitious: the commitment to provide routine and economical access to space locked the agency into a schedule too tight to be met with the available resources.—Scientific American
Scientific American
overambitiously
adverb
planned overambitiously for the future
I overambitiously tried the traditional full Irish breakfast …
—Laura Reiley
Laura Reiley
overambitiousness
noun
My hopes for another gardening season have once again been dashed by my overambitiousness and basically lazy nature.
—Michelle Kennedy
Michelle Kennedy
Examples of overambitious in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
This sets the stage for the recurring theme of the season, with overambitious district attorney Harvey Dent (Diedrich Bader) running for mayor, putting him in conflict, but maybe also in cahoots, with Thorne.
—Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic, 30 July 2024
The company made decisions on hiring and new products last year that were overambitious, Mickos said.
—James Rundle, WSJ, 16 Aug. 2023
On several occasions, overambitious companies pressed even decrepit hulls back into service, such was the value and relative rarity of boats.
—David Reamer | Alaska History, Anchorage Daily News, 25 June 2023
Though holiday weekends have always been a bit of a gamble, crew staffing issues magnified by overambitious schedules means there’s now less slack in the system, Bob Mann, a longtime airline executive who now runs R.W. Mann & Company, an airline consulting company, said.
—New York Times, 1 July 2022
However, that may be overambitious.
—Ananya Bhattacharya, Quartz, 23 Mar. 2022
Each new play is putatively the work of the Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society, a troupe of overambitious amateur thespians.
—Alexis Soloski, New York Times, 29 Mar. 2023
Many women are considered overambitious and degraded for wanting to succeed, while those same characteristics are celebrated in men.
—Blake Morgan, Forbes, 12 Mar. 2021
Guillory’s original plan for Professing Criticism, ultimately abandoned as overambitious, was to write a chronological history of academic literary study in Britain and America from the medieval era to the present.
—Evan Kindley, The New York Review of Books, 16 Feb. 2023
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic, 30 July 2024
The company made decisions on hiring and new products last year that were overambitious, Mickos said.
—James Rundle, WSJ, 16 Aug. 2023
On several occasions, overambitious companies pressed even decrepit hulls back into service, such was the value and relative rarity of boats.
—David Reamer | Alaska History, Anchorage Daily News, 25 June 2023
Though holiday weekends have always been a bit of a gamble, crew staffing issues magnified by overambitious schedules means there’s now less slack in the system, Bob Mann, a longtime airline executive who now runs R.W. Mann & Company, an airline consulting company, said.
—New York Times, 1 July 2022
However, that may be overambitious.
—Ananya Bhattacharya, Quartz, 23 Mar. 2022
Each new play is putatively the work of the Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society, a troupe of overambitious amateur thespians.
—Alexis Soloski, New York Times, 29 Mar. 2023
Many women are considered overambitious and degraded for wanting to succeed, while those same characteristics are celebrated in men.
—Blake Morgan, Forbes, 12 Mar. 2021
Guillory’s original plan for Professing Criticism, ultimately abandoned as overambitious, was to write a chronological history of academic literary study in Britain and America from the medieval era to the present.
—Evan Kindley, The New York Review of Books, 16 Feb. 2023
Dictionary Entries Near overambitious
Cite this Entry
“Overambitious.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/overambitious. Accessed 21 Dec. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share