ambition

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“
For his ambition was as large as his fist and as aggressive as his jaw.

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Definitions (12)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (3)

  1. noun An eager or strong desire to achieve something, such as fame or power.
  2. noun The object or goal desired: Her ambition is the presidency.
  3. noun Desire for exertion or activity; energy: had no ambition to go dancing.

Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (4)

Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (2)

Toggle WordNet definitions WordNet (3)

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This word has been looked up 225 times.

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Roget's II Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

Allen's Allen's Synonyms and Antonyms

Used in the same context Used in the Same Context

pride ·  desire ·  jealousy ·  vanity ·  aspiration ·  courage ·  enthusiasm ·  greed ·  imagination ·  hope ·  genius ·  impulse

Used in the same contextWord Family

ambition:   ambitions
Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (3)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Middle English ambicioun, excessive desire for honor, power, or wealth, from Old French ambition, from Latin ambitiō, ambitiōn-, from ambitus, past participle of ambīre, to go around (for votes); see ambient.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (2)

  1. from Middle English ambicion, -cioun, from Old French (and F.) ambition = Spanish ambicion = Portuguese ambição = Italian ambizione, from Latin ambitio(n-), ambition, a striving for favor, literally a going about, as of a candidate soliciting votes, from ambire, past participle ambitus, go about, solicit votes: see ambient.
  2. From the noun.
 

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/æmˈbɪʃən/
by American Heritage

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