ambition

1 eager desire for personal advancement <“Talent without ambition will not make you a star,” the singer's voice coach liked to remind her> Synonyms ambitiousness, aspiration, go-getting Related Words determination, diligence, drive, energy, enterprise, go, hustle, industry, initiative, motivation, push; aggression, competitiveness, killer instinct; opportunism, overambitiousness, pretentiousness, pushiness; assertiveness, daring, spirit; ardor, avidity, eagerness, keenness, passion; avarice, greed, hunger Near Antonyms apathy, halfheartedness, indifference, unconcern; idleness, indolence, inertia, laziness, lethargy, shiftlessness, sloth

2 readiness to engage in daring or difficult activity <the ambition shown by the undersea explorers of the Mariana Trench, the deepest in the world> Synonyms action, aggressiveness, enterprise, drive, go, hustle, initiativeRelated Words grit, gumption, pluck, snap, spirit, spunk, starch; ambitiousness, killer instinct, overambitiousness; assertiveness, self-reliance; energy, hardihood, pep, vigor, vitalityNear Antonyms inactivity, inertia, passivity; diffidence, faintheartedness, timidity; hesitation, reluctance; indolence, laziness, lethargy

3 something that one hopes or intends to accomplish <his ambition is to study international business, then get a job overseas> Synonyms aim, goal, aspiration, bourne (also bourn), design, dream, end, idea, ideal, intent, intention, mark, meaning, object, objective, plan, point, pretension, purpose, target, thingRelated Words grail, holy grail; plot, project, scheme; desire, hope, mind, wish; nirvana; destination, terminusNear Antonyms means, method, way