- ambition
- noun1 strong desire to be successfulADJECTIVE▪ driving (esp. BrE), great, naked▪
She's a woman of driving ambition.
▪ personalVERB + AMBITION▪ have▪He has no ambition.
▪ lackAMBITION + VERB▪ burn▪Ambition burned within her.
2 sth you very much want to have/doADJECTIVE▪ big, burning, driving (esp. BrE), great, high, main (esp. BrE), ultimate (esp. BrE)▪Her biggest ambition was to climb Everest.
▪ lifelong, life's▪At last he had realized his life's ambition.
▪ long-held, long-standing (both esp. BrE)▪ grandiose, lofty▪ modest (esp. BrE)▪ personal▪ secret▪ youthful▪ frustrated, thwarted, unfulfilled▪This is a tale of jealousy and thwarted ambitions.
▪ artistic, career, literary, political, presidential, social, sporting (BrE)▪ global, imperial, imperialist, nuclear, territorial▪the company's global ambitions
VERB + AMBITION▪ cherish, harbour/harbor, have, nurture (esp. BrE)▪He had only one ambition in life.
▪ abandon, give up▪ achieve, fulfil/fulfill, realize▪ limit▪ frustrate, thwart▪He felt great resentment at having his ambition frustrated.
Collocations dictionary. 2013.