Ambitious Meaning
/æmˈbɪʃ.əs/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
adjHaving or showing ambition; wanting a lot of power, honor, respect, superiority, or other distinction.
adjVery desirous.
Sentence Examples
The ambitious man became intoxicated with his own success.
In the religious-cult trial, the ambitious lawyer will represent the cult leader.
CEFR Practice Quiz
Their ____ goal was to colonize Mars within ten years.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The company has some very ____ plans for expansion next year.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English ambitious, from Middle French ambitieus, from Latin ambitiosus, from ambitio; see ambition. Compare with French ambitieux. By surface analysis, ambit + -ious.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"I was ambitious—have you known
The passion, father? You have not:
A cottager, I mark’d a throne
Of half the world as all my own,
And murmur’d at such lowly lot— […]"
— 1829, Edgar Allan Poe, “Tamerlane”, in Al Aaraaf, Tamerlane and Minor Poems:
"As I grew richer I grew more ambitious, took a house in the country, and eventually married, without anyone having a suspicion as to my real occupation."
— 1891, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Man with the Twisted Lip:
"We were soon in the midst of the rapids, which were more swift and tumultuous than any we had poled up, and had turned to the side of the stream for the purpose of warping, when the boatmen, who felt some pride in their skill, and were ambitious to do something more than usual"
— 1864, Henry David Thoreau, The Maine Woods:
"A “moving platform” scheme[…]is more technologically ambitious than maglev trains even though it relies on conventional rails. Local trains would use side-by-side rails to roll alongside intercity trains and allow passengers to switch trains by stepping through docking bays. This set-up solves several problems […]. Stopping high-speed trains wastes energy and time, so why not simply slow them down enough for a moving platform to pull alongside?"
— 2013 June 1, “Ideas coming down the track”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8838, page 13 (Technology Quarterly):
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CEFR Practice Quiz
Their ____ goal was to colonize Mars within ten years.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The company has some very ____ plans for expansion next year.