ambition

See also: Ambition

English

Etymology

From Middle English ambicioun, from Old French ambition, from Latin ambitiō (“ambition, a striving for favor, literally 'a going around', especially of candidates for office in Rome soliciting votes”), from ambiō (“I go around, solicit votes”). See ambient, issue.

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /æmˈbɪʃ.ən/

  • Audio (US)

    (file)

Noun

ambition (countable and uncountable, plural ambitions)

1. (uncountable, countable) Eager or inordinate desire for some object that confers distinction, as preferment, honor, superiority, political power, or fame; desire to distinguish one's self from other people.

   My son, John, wants to be a firefighter very much. He has a lot of ambition.

   • 1756, [Edmund Burke], A Vindication of Natural Society: Or, A View of the Miseries and Evils Arising to Mankind from Every Species of Artificial Society. […], London: […] M. Cooper […], →OCLC, page 20:

     One is aſtoniſhed hovv ſuch a ſmall ſpot could furniſh Men ſufficient to ſacrifice to the pitiful Ambition of poſſeſſing five or ſix thouſand more Acres, or tvvo or three more Villages: […]

2. (countable) An object of an ardent desire.

   My ambition is to own a helicopter.

3. A desire, as in (sense 1), for another person to achieve these things.
4. (uncountable) A personal quality similar to motivation, not necessarily tied to a single goal.
5. (obsolete) The act of going about to solicit or obtain an office, or any other object of desire; canvassing.
   • 1671, John Milton, “Samson Agonistes, […]”, in Paradise Regain’d. A Poem. In IV Books. To which is Added, Samson Agonistes, London: […] J. M[acock] for John Starkey […], →OCLC, page 22:

     I on th' other ſide / Us'd no ambition to commend my deeds, […]

Related terms

• ambience
• ambient
• ambit
• ambitious
• ambitionist

Translations

desire

• Arabic: مَطْمَح‎ m (maṭmaḥ)
• Armenian: փառասիրություն (hy) (pʿaṙasirutʿyun)
• Belarusian: амбі́цыя f (ambícyja)
• Bulgarian: амби́ция (bg) f (ambícija), честолю́бие (bg) n (čestoljúbie)
• Catalan: ambició (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 奢望 (zh) (shēwàng), 抱負／抱负 (zh) (bàofù), 志向 (zh) (zhìxiang), 志氣／志气 (zh) (zhìqì)

• Czech: ctižádost (cs) f, ambice (cs) f pl
• Danish: ambition c
• Dutch: eerzucht (nl) m or f, ambitie (nl) f
• Esperanto: gloramo, ambicio
• Finnish: kunnianhimo (fi) (to distinguish)
• French: ambition (fr) f
• Galician: ambición (gl) f
• German: Ehrgeiz (de) m
• Greek: φιλοδοξία (el) (filodoxía)
• Hungarian: ambíció (hu), becsvágy (hu), nagyravágyás (hu), nagyratörés
• Indonesian: ambisi (id)
• Japanese: 野望 (ja) (やぼう, yabō), 野心 (ja) (やしん, yashin)
• Korean: 야망(野望) (ko) (yamang), 야심(野心) (ko) (yasim)
• Latin: ambitiō f
• Latvian: godkāre f
• Malay: kesungguhan
• Malayalam: അഭിലാഷം (ml) (abhilāṣaṃ), ലക്ഷ്യം (ml) (lakṣyaṃ)
• Maori: awhero
• Middle English: ambicioun
• Persian: اشتیاق‎ (fa) (eštiyâq), خواهش‎ (fa) (xâheš)
• Plautdietsch: Väanämungsjeist m, Äwanämungsjeist m
• Polish: ambicja (pl) f
• Portuguese: ambição (pt) f
• Russian: амби́ция (ru) f (ambícija)
• Spanish: ambición (es) f
• Swedish: ambition (sv) c
• Ukrainian: амбі́ція (uk) f (ambícija)

object of desire

• Catalan: ambició (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 志向 (zh) (zhìxiàng)

• Czech: ctižádost (cs) f, ambice (cs) f
• Finnish: intohimo (fi)
• Hungarian: cél (hu), vágy (hu)
• Malayalam: അഭിലാഷം (ml) (abhilāṣaṃ)
• Maori: hemonga
• Persian: آرزو‎ (fa) (ârezu)
• Portuguese: ambição (pt) f
• Russian: цель (ru) f (celʹ), мечта́ (ru) f (mečtá)
• Spanish: ambición (es) f

desire for another person to achieve these things

• Spanish: ambición (es) f

personal quality

• Belarusian: славалю́бства n (slavaljúbstva), амбі́цыя f (ambícyja)
• Catalan: ambició (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 奢望 (zh) (shēwàng)

• Czech: ctižádost (cs) f
• Finnish: aloitekyky
• Gallurese: giuditzia
• Hungarian: ambíció (hu), igyekezet (hu), törekvés (hu)
• Italian: ambizione (it)
• Japanese: 野望 (ja) (やぼう, yabō), 野心 (ja) (やしん, yashin)
• Malayalam: ലക്ഷ്യം (ml) (lakṣyaṃ)
• Persian: اشتیاق‎ (fa) (eštiyâq)
• Plautdietsch: Väanämungsjeist m
• Polish: ambicja (pl) f
• Portuguese: ambição (pt) f
• Russian: амби́ция (ru) f (ambícija), честолю́бие (ru) n (čestoljúbije)
• Sardinian:

  Campidanese: ambitzione

  Logudorese: ambitzione

• Sassarese: ambizioni
• Spanish: ambición (es) f
• Ukrainian: амбі́ція (uk) f (ambícija), честолю́бство n (čestoljúbstvo)

act of going about to solicit or obtain an object of desire

• Armenian: փառասիրություն (hy) (pʿaṙasirutʿyun)
• Finnish: yritys (fi), pyrkimys (fi)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: ^{(please verify)} 野心 (zh) (yěxīn), ^{(please verify)} 雄心 (zh) (xióngxīn), ^{(please verify)} 志氣／志气 (zh) (zhìqi), ^{(please verify)} 志向 (zh) (zhìxiang), ^{(please verify)} 抱負／抱负 (zh) (bàofù)

• French: ^{(please verify)} ambition (fr) f (1-5)
• Georgian: ^{(please verify)} პატივმოყვარეობა (ṗaṭivmoq̇vareoba)
• German: ^{(please verify)} Ehrgeiz (de) m, ^{(please verify)} Ambition (de) f (5)
• Italian: ^{(please verify)} ambizione (it) f (1-4)
• Luxembourgish: ^{(please verify)} Ambitioun f
• Maltese: ^{(please verify)} ambizzjoni f
• Serbo-Croatian: ^{(please verify)} àmbīcija (sh) f, ^{(please verify)} prègalāštvo (sh) n
• Serbo-Croatian: ^{(please verify)} častoljublje (sh) n
• Swedish: ^{(please verify)} ambition (sv) c (1)

Verb

ambition (third-person singular simple present ambitions, present participle ambitioning, simple past and past participle ambitioned)

1. To seek after ambitiously or eagerly; to covet.
   • 1746, C Turnbull, The Histories Of Marcus Junianus Justinus:

     Pausanias, ambitioning the sovereignty of Greece, bargains with Xerxes for his daughter in marriage.

Further reading

• “ambition”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “ambition”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.

Danish

Noun

ambition c

1. ambition

Declension

Declension of ambition

gender	Singular		Plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	ambition	ambitionen	ambitioner	ambitionerne
genitive	ambitions	ambitionens	ambitioners	ambitionernes

Related terms

• ambitiøs

Further reading

• “ambition” in Den Danske Ordbog
• “ambition” in Ordbog over det danske Sprog

Finnish

Noun

ambition

1. genitive singular of ambitio

French

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin ambitiōnem.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɑ̃.bi.sjɔ̃/

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

ambition f (plural ambitions)

1. ambition (feeling)

Derived terms

• ambitionner

Related terms

• ambitieux

Further reading

• “ambition”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Swedish

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

ambition c

1. en ambition

Declension

Declension of ambition
	Singular		Plural
	Indefinite	Definite	Indefinite	Definite
Nominative	ambition	ambitionen	ambitioner	ambitionerna
Genitive	ambitions	ambitionens	ambitioners	ambitionernas

Related terms

• ambitiös