Aspirations are strong desires or ambitions to achieve something, often accompanied by plans or dreams for the future. They can refer to personal or professional goals and reflect motivational drives. In everyday use, the word conveys both the intensity of longing and the direction one intends to take.
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"Her aspirations to become a physician kept her focused through long years of study."
"The company’s aspirations include expanding into new markets while maintaining quality."
"He spoke about his political aspirations during the town hall meeting."
"Despite setbacks, her aspirations remained high and she kept pursuing opportunities."
Aspirations derives from the Latin aspirare, meaning to breathe upon or to aspire. The root aspir- comes from aeri- in Latin, related to breath and life force, implying a momentous inward draw toward some endpoint. The word evolved in English with the -ation suffix to form a noun representing a state or condition. Its earliest uses in English appear in the late Middle Ages, with psychological and ethical overtones expanding in the Renaissance and Enlightenment as people discussed motives, aims, and moral purposes. By the 18th and 19th centuries, aspiration carried both literal notions of breathing in a goal-directed way and metaphorical ideas of striving toward lofty ends. The plural form aspirations appears in modern usage to describe plural ambitions held by a person or group, frequently in professional, educational, or personal development contexts. The semantic shift from a physical act of breathing to a metaphorical act of striving is well established in many languages; the English usage solidified in print as a common term in biographies, motivational literature, and leadership discourse. The word now signals not only the existence of aims but also the process, energy, and persistence involved in pursuing them, often in a forward-looking, aspirational tone.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "aspirations" and can often be used interchangeably.
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Words that rhyme with "aspirations"
-ons sounds
-n’s sounds
Practice with these rhyming pairs to improve your pronunciation consistency:
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Pronounce as-PEER-AY-shunz in most dialects, with primary stress on the second syllable: /əˌspɪˈreɪʃənz/. The initial schwa reduces, the second syllable carries the primary stress, and the trailing -ions is pronounced as /ənz/. Keep the /r/ soft and the /ʃ/ as in 'shun'. Mouth positions: relaxed lips for the first syllable, intermediate tongue height for /ɪ/ in the second, and a brief /eɪ/ glide into /ʃənz/. Audio reference: think of 'inspiration' as a close analogue.
Common errors: 1) Dropping the /r/ after the first vowel (say əˌspɪˈreɪʃənz, not əˌspɪˈpeɪʃənz). 2) Flattening the /eɪ/ into a quick /e/ or /ɛ/ sound, so it sounds like /-rɛʃənz/. 3) Mushing the ending into /-ənz/ as /-nz/ or /-ʃənz/ with unclear syllable boundaries. Correction: emphasize the /ˈreɪ/ and clearly separate syllables a-spi-ra-tions; keep the /r/ after the /ɪ/ and use a clear /eɪ/ glide before /ʃ/.
US, UK, and AU share /əˌspɪˈreɪʃənz/ but with nuances: US rhotic /ɹ/ is pronounced clearly; UK non-rhotic often has a weaker /r/ or silent in some syllables; AU tends to a flatter, more clipped /ɜː/ quality in the first vowel but preserves /ɪ/ and /eɪ/ with a broader mouth opening. The primary stress remains on the second syllable; the /ɪ/ can be slightly reduced in rapid speech across all, and the final /ənz/ can be pronounced as /ənz/ or /ənz/ depending on tempo.
Difficulties come from the sequence of sounds: a reduced initial schwa, a prominent /ˈreɪ/ with a preceding /p/ and short /ɪ/ often slurring, and finally the cluster /ʃənz/ which blends /ʃ/ with a nasal and plural suffix. The transition from /reɪ/ to /ʃənz/ requires a quick shift from a mid-front vowel to a palato-alveolar fricative, while maintaining the /əz/ or /ənz/ ending clearly. Practicing the stress rhythm helps avoid rushing the middle syllable.
Yes, the word starts with a weak initial schwa /ə/. To handle: begin with a relaxed tongue and lips, then quickly raise to /spɪ/ for the onset of the second syllable. Ensure the /ə/ is light and not pronounced as a full vowel; this helps improve fluency and prevents a drawn-out first syllable. Maintaining a natural, quick opening of the mouth for the second syllable supports accurate /ˌspɪˈreɪ/.
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