What does ambitious mean?
Ambitious is an adjective describing a strong desire and determination to achieve success, power, or distinction. It applies most often to people who set high goals and work energetically toward them, but it also describes plans, projects, or targets that demand exceptional effort, resources, or skill — an ambitious reform program, for instance, is one whose scope goes well beyond the ordinary. The word's connotations cut both ways: in modern usage it is frequently praise, signaling drive and aspiration, yet it can also suggest excessive hunger for advancement, a shade inherited from its early associations with political self-seeking. Derived from Latin via Middle English in the sixteenth century, it belongs to a family of words tracing back to ambire, 'to go around,' the literal practice of Roman office-seekers canvassing for votes. Commonly paired with nouns like plan, goal, career, and project, ambitious remains one of the most useful words for talking about human aspiration at any scale.
Having or showing a strong desire and determination to achieve success, power, or distinction.
"He was ambitious enough to leave a secure job and start his own company."
Can be neutral-to-positive in modern usage, though it may imply overreaching in some contexts.
(Of a plan, project, or goal) requiring exceptional effort, skill, or resources; large in scope or difficult to achieve.
"The team set an ambitious deadline of shipping the product within six months."
When applied to things rather than people, the word emphasizes scale and difficulty rather than character.
Ambitious comes from Latin ambire, 'to go around' — Roman politicians literally canvassed for votes by walking around the streets, making 'going about' the original meaning of ambition.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of ambitious
Ambitious derives from the Latin noun ambitio, meaning 'a going around,' especially the canvassing for votes by candidates who walked among the public seeking support. The word passed into Middle French as ambition before entering English in the mid-sixteenth century, initially carrying a strongly negative sense of excessive desire for honor or power. Over time the term softened into a largely neutral or positive descriptor of determined striving. Its Latin root, ambire ('to go around'), also underlies related words such as circuit, ambient, and circumference.
Related word forms
How ambitious is actually used
Ambitious can carry either positive connotations (drive, aspiration) or negative ones (excessive desire for power or advancement), depending on context. When applied to people it usually implies personal striving; when applied to plans or goals it implies scale and difficulty rather than personal character.
Easily confused with ambitious
Ambiguous means unclear or open to multiple interpretations, whereas ambitious describes a strong drive for achievement.