AMBITION

ambition, ambitiousness

(noun) a strong drive for success

ambition, aspiration, dream

(noun) a cherished desire; “his ambition is to own his own business”

ambition

(verb) have as one’s ambition

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Noun

ambition (countable and uncountable, plural ambitions)

(uncountable, countable) Eager or inordinate desire for some object that confers distinction, as preferment, honor, superiority, political power, or literary fame; desire to distinguish one's self from other people.

(countable) An object of an ardent desire.

A desire, as in (sense 1), for another person to achieve these things.

(uncountable) 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

ambition (third-person singular simple present ambitions, present participle ambitioning, simple past and past participle ambitioned)

To seek after ambitiously or eagerly; to covet.

Source: Wiktionary


Am*bi"tion, n. Etym: [F. ambition, L. ambitio a going around, especially of candidates for office is Rome, to solicit votes (hence, desire for office or honorambire to go around. See Ambient, Issue.]

1. The act of going about to solicit or obtain an office, or any other object of desire; canvassing. [Obs.] [I] used no ambition to commend my deeds. Milton.

2. An eager, and sometimes an inordinate, desire for preferment, honor, superiority, power, or the attainment of something. Cromwell, I charge thee, fling a way ambition: By that sin fell the angels. Shak. The pitiful ambition of possessing five or six thousand more acres. Burke.

Am*bi"tion, v. t. Etym: [Cf. F. ambitionner.]

Definition: To seek after ambitiously or eagerly; to covet. [R.] Pausanias, ambitioning the sovereignty of Greece, bargains with Xerxes for his daughter in marriage. Trumbull.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

24 December 2024

INTUITIVELY

(adverb) in an intuitive manner; “inventors seem to have chosen intuitively a combination of explosive and aggressive sounds as warning signals to be used on automobiles”


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Coffee Trivia

Plain brewed coffee contains almost no calories, while coffee with dairy products, sugar, and other flavorings is much higher in calories. An espresso has 20 calories. A nonfat latte has 72, while a flavored one has 134.

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