ambitious

[ am-bish-uhs ]
/ æmˈbɪʃ əs /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR ambitious ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

having ambition; eagerly desirous of achieving or obtaining success, power, wealth, a specific goal, etc.: ambitious students.
showing or caused by ambition or an earnest desire for achievement or distinction: an ambitious attempt to break the record for number of wins in a single season.
strongly desirous; eager: ambitious of love and approval.
requiring exceptional effort, ability, etc.: The candidate is proposing an ambitious program for eliminating all slums.

Origin of ambitious

1350–1400; Middle English < Latin ambitiōsus, equivalent to ambiti(ō) ambition + -ōsus -ous

synonym study for ambitious

1. Ambitious, aspiring, enterprising describe a person who wishes to rise above his or her present position or condition. The ambitious person wishes to attain worldly success, and puts forth effort toward this end: ambitious for social position. The enterprising person, interested especially in wealth, is characterized by energy and daring in undertaking projects. The aspiring person wishes to rise (mentally or spiritually) to a higher level or plane, or to attain some end above ordinary expectations.

OTHER WORDS FROM ambitious

Words nearby ambitious

ambisonics, ambisyllabic, ambit, ambitendency, ambition, ambitious, ambivalence, ambivalent, ambivalent sexism, ambiversion, ambivert

Words related to overambitious

grandiose, stilted, arty, overblown, hollow, exaggerated, turgid, pompous, showy, ostentatious, affected, assuming, aureate, big, bombastic, chichi, conspicuous, extravagant, feigned, flamboyant

Example sentences from the Web for overambitious

  • They used words such as promising, uneven, overambitious, gifted.

    Fanny Herself |Edna Ferber

  • External foreign developments had been adding to the difficulties of achieving the overambitious industrial and military goals.

    East-West Trade Trends |Harold E. Stassen

British Dictionary definitions for overambitious (1 of 2)

overambitious
/ (ˌəʊvəræmˈbɪʃəs) /

adjective

excessively ambitious the aims were overambitious, therefore few were achieved

British Dictionary definitions for overambitious (2 of 2)

ambitious
/ (æmˈbɪʃəs) /

adjective

having a strong desire for success or achievement; wanting power, money, etc
necessitating extraordinary effort or ability an ambitious project
(often foll by of) having a great desire (for something or to do something)

Derived forms of ambitious

ambitiously, adverb ambitiousness, noun