Synonyms of ambitious

ambitious

adjective

am-ˈbi-shəs 

1

as in aspiring

having a strong desire for personal advancement

an ambitious child actor and his even more ambitious mother, who will do anything to get him in commercials

Synonyms & Similar Words

• aspiring
• energetic
• ardent
• eager
• diligent
• hard-driving
• aggressive
• motivated
• go-getting
• dynamic
• pushing
• industrious
• self-seeking
• enterprising
• hungry
• avid
• spirited
• venturesome
• determined
• competitive
• scrappy
• impassioned
• vigorous
• overambitious
• opportunistic
• animated
• venturous
• hustling
• lively
• assertive
• driving
• pretentious
• pushy
• competing
• rival
• gung ho
• high-flying
• keen
• rivalrous
• raring
• self-assertive

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• unambitious
• disinterested
• indifferent
• uninterested
• apathetic
• unenthusiastic
• casual
• unexcited
• easygoing
• ambitionless
• lackadaisical
• lazy
• halfhearted
• tepid
• lukewarm
• sluggish
• lethargic
• shiftless
• listless
• uneager
• spiritless
• unassertive
• lazyish
• unaggressive

2

as in aggressive

having or showing a bold forcefulness in the pursuit of a goal

cleaning up the vacant lot in one weekend was an ambitious undertaking

Synonyms & Similar Words

• aggressive
• adventurous
• fierce
• enterprising
• vigorous
• energetic
• militant
• assertive
• confident
• high-pressure
• daring
• in-your-face
• pushy
• go-getting
• bold
• self-assertive
• dynamic
• overambitious
• warlike
• pugnacious
• belligerent
• combative
• bellicose
• contentious
• determined
• self-asserting
• strenuous
• quarrelsome
• emphatic
• truculent
• adventuresome
• audacious
• impudent
• argumentative
• venturous
• gutsy
• hustling
• domineering
• disputatious
• venturesome
• gladiatorial
• bumptious
• insolent
• feisty
• cocky
• cheeky
• obtrusive
• trigger-happy
• unapologetic
• overconfident
• hyperaggressive
• brassy
• emboldened
• dashing
• presumptuous
• gung ho
• discordant
• brash
• scrappy
• cocksure
• dominating
• overbearing
• forward
• unyielding
• magisterial
• imperious
• unsubdued
• bare-knuckle
• lordly

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• unambitious
• low-pressure
• unassertive
• unaggressive
• easygoing
• relaxed
• nonassertive
• amenable
• compliant
• docile
• tractable
• ambitionless
• deferential
• submissive
• unenterprising
• modest
• timid
• passive
• acquiescent
• humble
• mild
• yielding
• resigned
• quiet
• shrinking
• shy
• laid-back
• subdued
• meek
• unobtrusive
• bashful
• diffident
• lowly
• reserved
• retiring
• servile
• mousy
• demure
• obsequious
• subservient
• slavish
• cringing
• groveling
• overmodest
• cowering

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of ambitious

The Fowlers moved forward with their ambitious plan for the property during the pandemic, when construction costs exploded. — Jim Woods, Chicago Tribune, 7 Aug. 2026

In the film – sold by Beta Cinema and produced by Ostlicht Filmproduktion – an ambitious journalist (Valerie Pachner) wants to expose his lies. — Marta Balaga, Variety, 7 Aug. 2026

Certainly the question was high in mind when the Aspen Art Museum reconvened AIR, an ambitious festival of art, performance, and talks whose second edition took over the mountain town last week. — Andy Battaglia, ARTnews.com, 7 Aug. 2026

But that would require creating the conditions for a company as ambitious as WonderFi to keep expanding after winning the home market. — Karia Samaroo, Fortune, 7 Aug. 2026