1
as in aspiration
eager desire for personal advancement
"Talent without ambition will not make you a star," the singer's voice coach liked to remind her
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2
as in initiative
readiness to engage in daring or difficult activity
the ambition shown by the undersea explorers of the Mariana Trench, the deepest in the world
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in goal
something that one hopes or intends to accomplish
his ambition is to study international business, then get a job overseas
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of ambition
So there is this constant tension within him between human-ness and party-ness, where on the one hand Xi Zhongxun was someone with his own views, his own ambitions, and his own emotions.
—
Emily Feng, NPR, 28 May 2025
SpaceX kicked off the year with the ambition to launch as many as 25 Starship test flights in 2025, a goal that now seems to be unattainable.
—ArsTechnica, 28 May 2025
In this edition of CNBC Meets, Cher speaks to Tania Bryer about the ambition that drove her success, activism and why her next album might be her last.
—Yeo Boon Ping, CNBC, 27 May 2025
Even with big ambitions, Evans is still drawing cautious lines around where Hot Ones can go.
—Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 27 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for ambition
Emily Feng, NPR, 28 May 2025
SpaceX kicked off the year with the ambition to launch as many as 25 Starship test flights in 2025, a goal that now seems to be unattainable.
—ArsTechnica, 28 May 2025
In this edition of CNBC Meets, Cher speaks to Tania Bryer about the ambition that drove her success, activism and why her next album might be her last.
—Yeo Boon Ping, CNBC, 27 May 2025
Even with big ambitions, Evans is still drawing cautious lines around where Hot Ones can go.
—Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 27 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for ambition
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ambition
Noun
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However, for this to succeed and to accomplish the country’s growth aspirations, the government will have to introduce significant reforms designed at making the economy more productive, competitive, and inclusive.—
Vasuki Shastry,
Forbes.com,
24 May 2025
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Reubens grew up performing plays on a stage that his father built in the basement of their home in Sarasota, Florida, with early aspirations of becoming an actor.—
Erin Jensen,
USA Today,
24 May 2025
Noun
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This year, Walmart, Target, Home Depot, Corona-parent Constellation Brands join an increasing number of companies advising investors about customer and legal backlash to their diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies and environmental, social and governance (ESG) initiatives.—
Nathaniel Meyersohn,
CNN Money,
28 May 2025
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As with previous cases challenging Trump's far-reaching executive actions and initiatives, the case raised further questions over whether the administration is defying court orders.—
Andrew Chung,
USA Today,
28 May 2025
Noun
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The goal is to haul Ford vehicles from the Kentucky Truck Plant to dealerships anywhere in the nation.—
Jamie L. LaReau,
USA Today,
26 May 2025
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Those goals were just the fourth and fifth in 14 games this spring.—
Daniel Nugent-Bowman,
New York Times,
26 May 2025
Noun
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While an immigration judge in Louisiana has found Khalil deportable based on Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s determination, his lawyers separately brought the federal court case to ask Farbiaz to weigh in on the constitutional issues at play.—
Molly Crane-Newman,
New York Daily News,
29 May 2025
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And there is determination and Stovall has plenty of that.—
Jeff Vorva,
Chicago Tribune,
28 May 2025
Noun
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The first funerals with caissons will be limited to troops killed in action, recipients of the Medal of Honor or Prisoner of War Medal and high-ranking service members.—
Tom Vanden Brook,
USA Today,
27 May 2025
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The report is sent to a committee that decides if further action is necessary.—
Jon McGowan,
Forbes.com,
26 May 2025
Noun
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These rituals included a physical action, an emotional expression and a shared sense of purpose.—
Vibhas Ratanjee,
Forbes.com,
2 June 2025
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This was still wild country, and Fuller set off with the express purpose of producing a book about her journey.—
James Marcus,
New Yorker,
2 June 2025
Noun
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Have the Yankees used that fifth inning for motivation or just flushed it?—
Bill Shaikin,
Los Angeles Times,
29 May 2025
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The process is also shaped by a long-term signaling process where candidates express interest or withdraw based on personal motivations and interactions with the current leader.—
Matthew F. Erskine,
Forbes.com,
29 May 2025
Noun
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One of drive, skill, and physicality, and the two midfielders both possess the engine to return to their defensive positions quickly when needed.—
James Nalton,
Forbes,
13 Feb. 2023
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Potentially more significant are subsidies paid to companies that manufacture batteries in the United States, part of a drive by the Biden administration to establish a domestic supply chain and reduce dependence on China.—
Jack Ewing,
New York Times,
10 Feb. 2023
Cite this Entry
“Ambition.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ambition. Accessed 6 Jun. 2025.
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