Ambition is a strong drive to achieve something, often requiring effort, risk, and persistence. It refers to a purposeful, forward-looking motivation that shapes actions and goals. As a noun, it can denote both a personal aspiration and a quality that reflects one's determination and ambition.
"Her ambition to become a surgeon kept her studying late at night."
"The company's expansion was fueled by bold ambition and strategic risk-taking."
"Despite setbacks, his ambition never wavered, and he finished the race."
"Her political ambition grew after she organized community outreach and volunteer work."
Ambition comes from the Old French ambition, from Latin ambitio(n-), from ambire ‘to go around, to go about, to solicit votes’ (from amb- ‘around’ + ire ‘to go’). The Latin root ambitio referred to a going around to solicit support or favor, especially in political contexts. In Medieval Latin, ambitiō carried the sense of “political influence” and “desire.” By the 14th century in English, ambition broadened beyond political maneuvering to denote personal striving and strong desire for achievement. Over time, the word retained its core sense of forward-moving motivation, but expanded to describe personal qualities (ambitious person) as well as the act of aiming for a goal. The phonology stabilized in Early Modern English, with modern pronunciation forming in the 17th century as the stress pattern and vowel qualities settled into the contemporary Ambition /æmˈbɪʃən/ in General American and /æmˈbɪʃən/ in UK varieties. The term remains common in business, education, and culture, often pairing with adjectives like “great,” “intense,” or “personal.”
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "Ambition" and can often be used interchangeably.
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Words that rhyme with "Ambition"
-ion sounds
Practice with these rhyming pairs to improve your pronunciation consistency:
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You pronounce it as am-BI-tion with stress on the second syllable. In IPA: US/UK/AU /æmˈbɪʃən/. Start with /æ/ as in cat, then /m/; the second syllable contains /ˈbɪ/ (bih) with a short, lax /ɪ/; end with /ʃən/ where /ʃ/ is like “sh” and the final /ən/ is a reduced schwa followed by an n. Keep the /m/ light and the /t/ is not released here; it’s a soft /ʃ/ before the final syllable.
Common errors include pronouncing the /b/ and /m/ as a blended or softened cluster (e.g., am-bish-un) and overpronouncing the final /t/; many speakers also insert an extra vowel in the second syllable (am-BI-shun). Correct by clearly articulating /æ/ then a firm /m/, releasing into /ˈbɪ/ with a crisp /b/ and a short /ɪ/, then glide into /ʃən/ without adding a vowel between /ʃ/ and /ən/. Practicing slow, precise articulation helps retain accurate rhythm.
Across accents, the core /æmˈbɪʃən/ stays constant, but vowel quality can shift subtly. In US English, /æ/ may sound slightly lower and tenser; UK English maintains a similar /æ/ but with a crisper /t/ release tendency before /ən/ absent here. Australian English often features a more centralized /ɪ/ and a slightly longer /ə/ in the final syllable. The rhoticity doesn’t affect the word’s core vowels; the main differences come from vowel height and duration before the /ʃ/ and the final schwa.
The difficulty lies in balancing the two stressed-central syllables and the consonant cluster around /m/ and /b/. The second syllable has a tense /ɪ/ followed by a palatal /ʃ/ before a reduced vowel /ən/, which can make the flow feel clipped if you’re not guiding air properly. Keeping the /m/ light and ensuring the /ʃ/ is clearly produced helps avoid slurring. Practice the sequence am- Bĭ- shən with steady air flow and minimal vowel intrusion.
Ambition carries the stress pattern am-BI-tion, and a key nuance is the transition from the voiced bilabial stop /b/ to the high-front lax vowel /ɪ/ before the /ʃ/. Keeping the /b/ lively, not muted, and then letting the /ɪ/ remain short and crisp before the /ʃ/ is essential. A good test: say am-BIH-shun quickly after a small pause, then connect to the following word without adding extra vowel between /ɪ/ and /ʃ/.
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