Meaning & use
highly driven
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Meaning
adjectivenot comparableapproving
Extremely determined to succeed and willing to work very hard to reach a goal.
Grammar: Used mainly before a noun (a highly driven athlete) or after a linking verb (she is highly driven); 'highly' cannot be replaced by 'high' here.
Patterns
- a highly driven person/student/team
- be highly driven to do something
She's a highly driven student who never misses a deadline.
The team is highly driven and trains six days a week.
He was highly driven to prove his critics wrong.
Common combinations
- highly driven individual
- They are looking for a highly driven individual to lead the project.
- highly driven to succeed
- She is highly driven to succeed in her new role.
- highly driven personality
- His highly driven personality made him a tough but effective manager.
- young and highly driven
- The startup was founded by three young and highly driven engineers.
Synonyms and how they differ
- motivated
- More neutral and general; it can describe a short-term mood, while 'highly driven' suggests a lasting inner push.
- ambitious
- Focuses on wanting success or power; 'highly driven' focuses on effort and persistence rather than status.
- determined
- Often used about one specific goal (determined to win), whereas 'highly driven' describes the person's whole character.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: highly driven or highly strung?
highly driven vs highly strung
Sounds similar but means nervous and easily upset, the opposite kind of comment. Do not mix the two when describing a colleague.
Practice
Choose the sentence that uses 'highly driven' correctly.
Choose one answer.
'Highly driven' describes a person's strong determination, so 'She is highly driven' fits. The others use 'drive' literally (operating a vehicle or pushing something), where 'highly' does not work.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “highly driven”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.