Synonyms of aspiration

aspiration

noun

ˌa-spə-ˈrā-shən 

1

as in ambition

eager desire for personal advancement

a combination of aspiration and hard work made her the top tennis player in the state

Synonyms & Similar Words

• ambition
• determination
• motivation
• initiative
• opportunism
• energy
• ambitiousness
• greed
• competitiveness
• passion
• industry
• go-getting
• push
• aggression
• diligence
• enterprise
• drive
• hustle
• spirit
• daring
• eagerness
• killer instinct
• go
• assertiveness
• avarice
• pretentiousness
• hunger
• avidity
• ardor
• pushiness
• keenness
• overambitiousness

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• indifference
• apathy
• unconcern
• inertia
• lethargy
• laziness
• indolence
• halfheartedness
• idleness
• sloth
• shiftlessness

2

as in goal

something that one hopes or intends to accomplish

college is his immediate aspiration after he graduates from high school

Synonyms & Similar Words

• goal
• purpose
• aim
• plan
• intention
• ambition
• intent
• idea
• objective
• dream
• object
• thing
• meaning
• ideal
• target
• design
• point
• end
• pretension
• name of the game
• project
• mark
• bourne
• hope
• desire
• wish
• scheme
• mind
• destination
• plot
• grail
• holy grail
• nirvana
• terminus

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• means
• method
• way

Synonym Chooser

How is the word aspiration different from other nouns like it?

The words ambition and pretension are common synonyms of aspiration. While all three words mean "strong desire for advancement," aspiration implies a striving after something higher than oneself.

an aspiration to become president someday

When is it sensible to use ambition instead of aspiration?

Although the words ambition and aspiration have much in common, ambition applies to the desire for personal advancement or preferment and may suggest equally a praiseworthy or an inordinate desire.

driven by ambition

In what contexts can pretension take the place of aspiration?

While in some cases nearly identical to aspiration, pretension suggests ardent desire for recognition of accomplishment often without actual possession of the necessary ability and therefore may imply presumption.

has literary pretensions

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of aspiration

Marriage, in this reading, functions as the one social institution that still reliably closes the aspiration gap — a stable anchor for identity and status at a moment when career and credentials no longer deliver those things dependably. —Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 3 May 2026

The Illinois governor was also asked about his political aspirations by Time magazine. —Claire Malon, Chicago Tribune, 2 May 2026

Towns is making the right read time and time again, and his emergence as the focal point has supercharged New York’s offense and its championship aspirations. —Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 1 May 2026

Not all parishes can afford to pay for a support staff to fully serve the parish and our missionary aspirations. —Tim Fang, CBS News, 30 Apr. 2026