# ambitious

/æmˈbɪʃəs/ (US) · /æmbˈɪʃəs/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/ambitious
Updated: 2026-06-20

## Senses

### 1. personally driven

adjective · CEFR B1

having a strong desire to be successful, powerful, or famous.

For teachers: possessing or exhibiting a strong desire for success, power, or social status.

- She is an ambitious lawyer who hopes to become a judge one day.
- The company is looking for ambitious graduates who are eager to climb the corporate ladder and take on leadership roles early in their careers.

### 2. difficult to achieve

adjective · CEFR B2

describing a plan or goal that needs a lot of effort and is hard to finish.

For teachers: requiring exceptional effort, skill, or resources to be successful; high in scope or difficulty.

- The government has an ambitious plan to build ten new hospitals by next year.
- The architect's ambitious design for the skyscraper pushed the limits of modern engineering and required materials that had never been used on such a scale.

## Examples

- She is an ambitious student who wants to be a doctor.
- The company launched an ambitious plan to open fifty new stores across the country by the end of the year.
- While his goals were undeniably ambitious, critics argued that the timeline for such a massive infrastructure overhaul was fundamentally unrealistic given the current budget constraints.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.