ambitious
- 1Having or showing a strong desire for success, power, honor, respect, or other distinction.
The ambitious senator spent years maneuvering toward the party leadership.
Investors admired her ambitious drive to dominate the regional market.
Similardriven, determined, enterprising, motivated
Oppositeunmotivated, apathetic, complacent
- 2Requiring great effort to accomplish; setting a goal that is difficult to reach.
The committee approved an ambitious schedule that left little room for delays.
Cutting emissions by half in five years is an ambitious target.
Similarchallenging, demanding, bold, difficult, daring
Oppositemodest, easy, unchallenging
- 3Resulting from or expressing ambition; marked by a strong drive to achieve or advance.
The ambitious expansion reflected the founder's relentless drive for growth.
Critics read the ambitious manifesto as a sign of his hunger for influence.
Oppositemodest, unassuming
- 4Strongly desirous of something; eager to obtain or accomplish a particular thing.
Ambitious of recognition, he submitted his work to every major journal.
She remained ambitious to master the craft, practicing for hours each day.
Oppositeindifferent, reluctant
Use it in a sentence
Write your own sentence with ambitious, and AI will tell you whether it fits and which meaning you used.
Origin
The word passed through Middle English "ambitious" and Middle French "ambitieus" from Latin "ambitiosus", from "ambitio" (see ambition), and is related to French "ambitieux".