1
as in aspiration
eager desire for personal advancement
"Talent without ambition will not make you a star," the singer's voice coach liked to remind her
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2
as in initiative
readiness to engage in daring or difficult activity
the ambition shown by the undersea explorers of the Mariana Trench, the deepest in the world
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3
as in goal
something that one hopes or intends to accomplish
his ambition is to study international business, then get a job overseas
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of ambition
And if his ambitions don’t pan out?
—
Natalie Oganesyan, Deadline, 11 Nov. 2025
Keep in mind, for a moment, that SDFC has much bigger ambitions beyond this postseason.
—Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Nov. 2025
The previous weekend’s 1-0 defeat by Chelsea had been meek and lifeless; a performance with the ambition of an artist painting a river without reflections.
—Jacob Whitehead, New York Times, 10 Nov. 2025
The ambition marks a sharp escalation from June's 12-day war, when Iran launched roughly 500 missiles in retaliation for Israeli strikes on its critical infrastructure, military bases and nuclear facilities.
—Amir Daftari, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ambition
Natalie Oganesyan, Deadline, 11 Nov. 2025
Keep in mind, for a moment, that SDFC has much bigger ambitions beyond this postseason.
—Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Nov. 2025
The previous weekend’s 1-0 defeat by Chelsea had been meek and lifeless; a performance with the ambition of an artist painting a river without reflections.
—Jacob Whitehead, New York Times, 10 Nov. 2025
The ambition marks a sharp escalation from June's 12-day war, when Iran launched roughly 500 missiles in retaliation for Israeli strikes on its critical infrastructure, military bases and nuclear facilities.
—Amir Daftari, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ambition
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ambition
Noun
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The singer and actress starred on The CW series as Jenny Humphrey and left during Season 4 to pursue her aspirations as the lead singer of rock band The Pretty Reckless.—
Armando Tinoco,
Deadline,
5 Nov. 2025
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Now, Lomax said, his aspirations go well beyond social media fame.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
5 Nov. 2025
Noun
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This week also saw big news from the quantum startup Quantinuum, and DARPA announced eleven companies advanced to the second stage of its quantum benchmarking initiative, which aims to either validate or invalidate the approaches taken by companies in the program.—
Reed Albergotti,
semafor.com,
7 Nov. 2025
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The result of this initiative is a less than 5% reduction in our total employee base.—
Jennifer Maas,
Variety,
7 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Trump’s goal could be to rally a majority of the world’s countries to call for an immediate and unconditional cease-fire, with details on implementation to be worked out by the parties.—
Thomas Wright,
The Atlantic,
11 Nov. 2025
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Some of the choices at the deli counter are better for certain health needs and goals than others.—
Abby Norman,
Verywell Health,
11 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Elizabeth’s determination not to settle the succession gave rise to fierce rivalry between the claimants to the English throne, among them Mary, Queen of Scots and her son James VI; James’s cousin Arbella Stuart; Lady Katherine Grey and her descendants; and Henry Hastings, Earl of Huntingdon.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
4 Nov. 2025
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Our shareholders and clients have benefited enormously from Elon Musk's vision, determination and execution.—
Alia Shoaib,
MSNBC Newsweek,
4 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Belém, Brazil Reuters — Dozens of Indigenous protesters forced their way into the COP30 climate summit venue on Tuesday and clashed with security guards at the entrance to demand climate action and forest protection.—
CNN Money,
CNN Money,
12 Nov. 2025
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Davidson led for nearly 39 minutes of action, answering each Charlotte comeback attempt run with a flurry of its own, quieting a Halton Arena crowd of 3,712.—
Hunter Bailey,
Charlotte Observer,
12 Nov. 2025
Noun
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However, this approach defeats the primary purpose of insurance, which is to protect against catastrophic costs in the event of an unexpected medical crisis.—
Jasmine Laws,
MSNBC Newsweek,
6 Nov. 2025
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Grief pressed in, but so did purpose.—
Preezy Brown,
VIBE.com,
5 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Duffy denied any political motivation.—
Jeanine Santucci,
USA Today,
7 Nov. 2025
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His content, often featuring humorous music about food was intended as motivation for Lomax’s own health journey.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
5 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Mills and the Texans’ offense scored a touchdown on all three of their fourth-quarter drives, including the veteran quarterback capping a 14-play, 93-yard drive with a 14-yard run to complete the comeback and give Houston a 30-29 lead — its first of the game.—
Scott Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
10 Nov. 2025
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The entertainment value picked up after the break, starting with a 12-play, 75-yard touchdown drive for North Carolina, capped by a 20-yard wheel route from quarterback Gio Lopez to running back Davion Gause.—
Justin Williams,
New York Times,
9 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Ambition.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ambition. Accessed 15 Nov. 2025.
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