Ambitious — Meaning, Definition & Synonyms

Ambitious (adjective) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

1. 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"

   similar: aspiring, go-getting, hard-driving, pushing, self-seeking
   related: determined, diligent, driving, dynamic, enterprising, gung ho, hungry, hustling, industrious, motivated, scrappy, venturesome, venturous, animated, lively, spirited, ardent, avid, eager, energetic, impassioned, keen, raring, vigorous, aggressive, assertive, high-flying, opportunistic, overambitious, pretentious, pushy, self-assertive, competing, competitive, rival, rivalrous
   opposite: ambitionless, unambitious
   near: apathetic, disinterested, indifferent, uneager, unenthusiastic, unexcited, uninterested, casual, easygoing, lackadaisical, lazyish, halfhearted, lukewarm, tepid, lazy, lethargic, listless, shiftless, sluggish, spiritless, unaggressive, unassertive

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

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

   similar: aggressive, assertive, enterprising, fierce, go-getting, high-pressure, in-your-face, militant, pushy, self-asserting, self-assertive
   related: argumentative, bellicose, belligerent, combative, contentious, discordant, disputatious, gladiatorial, pugnacious, quarrelsome, trigger-happy, truculent, warlike, hyperaggressive, overambitious, dynamic, energetic, gung ho, hustling, strenuous, vigorous, emphatic, obtrusive, adventuresome, adventurous, daring, dashing, emboldened, gutsy, venturesome, venturous, audacious, bold, brash, brassy, bumptious, cheeky, cocksure, cocky, confident, determined, forward, impudent, insolent, overconfident, presumptuous, unapologetic, unsubdued, unyielding, bare-knuckle, feisty, scrappy, dominating, domineering, imperious, lordly, magisterial, overbearing
   opposite: ambitionless, low-pressure, nonassertive, unaggressive, unambitious, unassertive, unenterprising
   near: easygoing, laid-back, relaxed, acquiescent, amenable, compliant, deferential, docile, resigned, submissive, tractable, yielding, cowering, cringing, groveling, shrinking, bashful, demure, diffident, humble, lowly, meek, mild, modest, mousy, overmodest, passive, quiet, reserved, retiring, shy, subdued, timid, unobtrusive, obsequious, servile, slavish, subservient