Meaning & use
personal ambition
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Meanings
nouncountable or uncountable
A strong desire to achieve something for oneself, such as success, fame, or a particular goal.
Grammar: Can be used with 'a' or without an article: 'She has a personal ambition' or 'He lacks personal ambition'.
Patterns
- have a personal ambition
- achieve a personal ambition
- someone's personal ambition to do something
Her personal ambition is to run a marathon before she turns forty.
He has no personal ambition; he just wants a quiet life.
The job offers little room for personal ambition.
nouncountable
A goal that someone wants to reach for their own satisfaction, not for others.
Grammar: Often used in the plural: 'personal ambitions'.
Patterns
- someone's personal ambitions
- pursue personal ambitions
She put her personal ambitions aside to care for her family.
The company encourages employees to pursue their personal ambitions.
His personal ambition was to write a novel, not to become rich.
Word forms
| plural | personal ambitions |
|---|
Common combinations
- have a personal ambition
- Many young people have a personal ambition to travel the world.
- achieve a personal ambition
- He finally achieved his personal ambition of owning a farm.
- lack personal ambition
- The critics said the character lacked personal ambition.
- pursue personal ambitions
- She left the company to pursue her personal ambitions.
Synonyms and how they differ
- drive
- This means a strong natural motivation, often more energetic and less focused on a specific goal than 'personal ambition'.
- aspiration
- This is more formal and often refers to a long-term hope or aim, while 'personal ambition' can be more immediate and self-centered.
- goal
- This is a specific target you work toward, whereas 'personal ambition' is the strong desire behind it.
Opposites
Word family
- ambitious adjective
- Having a strong desire to succeed.
- ambitiously adverb
- In a way that shows a strong desire to succeed.
Commonly confused: personal ambition or ambition?
personal ambition vs ambition
This is the general desire for success; 'personal ambition' emphasizes that the goal is for oneself, not for a group or cause.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'personal ambition' correctly?
Choose one answer.
The correct pattern is 'a personal ambition to do something'. Option B uses 'of' incorrectly; option C is missing 'a' or 'the' before 'personal ambition'; option D is missing 'to'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “personal ambition”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.