Definition of aspirationnext

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

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of aspiration For those who believe in equality, in the rights of peoples to define their own future and to have self-determination, Zionism should be understood as an expression of these broader human aspirations. Elad Strohmayer, Chicago Tribune, 21 Apr. 2026 The odds may be long, but Singh’s aspirations are off the charts. Dom Amore, Hartford Courant, 20 Apr. 2026 That aspiration was a kind of geopolitical superpower that no missile silo could replicate. Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 19 Apr. 2026 Ready to concretize your aspirations? Usa Today, USA Today, 19 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for aspiration
Recent Examples of Synonyms for aspiration
Noun
  • Set in the late 1990s, the pic based on Gavin Bain’s autobiography of the same name (later reissued as Straight Outta Scotland) follows Bain and Billy Boyd, aspiring musicians whose ambitions were dismissed because of their Scottish accents.
    Anthony D'Alessandro, Deadline, 22 Apr. 2026
  • Four years have passed since Villa first outlined their ambitions to press ahead with a stadium rebuild.
    Jacob Tanswell, New York Times, 22 Apr. 2026
Noun
  • On Monday, the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung reaffirmed plans to increase bilateral trade to $50 billion by 2030, a goal that was first announced in 2018.
    Priyanka Salve, CNBC, 21 Apr. 2026
  • When two teams are tied on points in La Liga, league position is decided by their head-to-head record rather than goal difference.
    Thom Harris, New York Times, 21 Apr. 2026
Noun
  • Princess Elizabeth and her family toured the Sandringham Park grounds, which were being used for agricultural purposes to contribute to the war efforts, in August 1943.
    Stephanie Sengwe, PEOPLE, 21 Apr. 2026
  • William West | Afp | Getty Images Shares in Japan's largest defense company Mitsubishi Heavy Industries climbed nearly 4% Monday after the country finalized an agreement with Australia for building three general purpose frigates.
    Lim Hui Jie, CNBC, 20 Apr. 2026
Noun
  • Sacking him is an embarrassment for all concerned, but 106 days after his appointment, Chelsea’s executives felt a change was needed to give the club the best possible chance of achieving their remaining aims for the season.
    Cerys Jones, New York Times, 23 Apr. 2026
  • With no imminent threat of a return to a punishing bombing campaign, Iran is achieving its central war aim of driving up the price of oil, and with it pressuring Trump to accede to some of its demands.
    Nic Robertson, CNN Money, 23 Apr. 2026
Noun
  • At the time of Jaxon’s death, the county was nearing the end of an 18-month corrective action plan aimed at improving oversight and safety within the system.
    Julia Prodis Sulek, Mercury News, 20 Apr. 2026
  • This isn’t an argument against your plan, per se.
    R. Eric Thomas, Chicago Tribune, 20 Apr. 2026
Noun
  • Beijing has said its intentions in East Asia and elsewhere are peaceful.
    CNN Money, CNN Money, 21 Apr. 2026
  • Getting followers on my account was never my intention going into this.
    Erin Vanderhoof, Vanity Fair, 20 Apr. 2026
Noun
  • So to put that personal detail out there in quite an elaborate fashion was very much the intent.
    Brian Davids, HollywoodReporter, 20 Apr. 2026
  • Her efforts have brought together a coalition intent on improving the lives of Bougainvilleans, today and into the future.
    Gabrielle Emanuel, NPR, 20 Apr. 2026
Noun
  • Focus on one idea and carry it through.
    Tarot.com, Baltimore Sun, 18 Apr. 2026
  • Barnes and Imam had been trading ideas with a scholar named Andrew Willard Jones, whose work focussed on the model of Christendom found in, say, High Middle Ages France, where society was organized around its relationship with the Church.
    Emma Green, New Yorker, 17 Apr. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Aspiration.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/aspiration. Accessed 25 Apr. 2026.

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