What are some opposite words for ambition?

Antonyms for ambition
æmˈbɪʃ ənam·bi·tion

This page is about all possible antonyms and opposite words for the term ambition.

English Synonyms and Antonyms3.1 / 7 votes

  1. ambition

    Aspiration is the desire for excellence, pure and simple. Ambition, literally a going around to solicit votes, has primary reference to the award or approval of others, and is the eager desire of power, fame, or something deemed great and eminent, and viewed as a worthy prize. The prizes of aspiration are virtue, nobility, skill, or other high qualities. The prizes of ambition are advancement, fame, honor, and the like. There is a noble and wise or an ignoble, selfish, and harmful ambition. Emulation is not so much to win any excellence or success for itself as to equal or surpass other persons. There is such a thing as a noble emulation, when those we would equal or surpass are noble, and the means we would use worthy. But, at the highest, emulation is inferior as a motive to aspiration, which seeks the high quality or character for its own sake, not with reference to another. Competition is the striving for something that is sought by another at the same time. Emulation regards the abstract, competition the concrete; rivalry is the same in essential meaning with competition, but differs in the nature of the objects contested for, which, in the case of rivalry, are usually of the nobler sort and less subject to direct gaging, measurement, and rule. We speak of competition in business, emulation in scholarship, rivalry in love, politics, etc.; emulation of excellence, success, achievement; competition for a prize; rivalry between persons or nations. Competition may be friendly, rivalry is commonly hostile. Opposition is becoming a frequent substitute for competition in business language; it implies that the competitor is an opponent and hinderer.

    Antonyms:
    carelessness, contentment, humility, indifference, satisfaction

    Synonyms:
    aspiration, competition, emulation, opposition, rivalry

Complete Dictionary of Synonyms and Antonyms2.3 / 4 votes

  1. ambition

    Antonyms:
    indifference, inappetency, contentment, moderation

    Synonyms:
    aspiration, emulation, appetition

Matched Categories

Princeton's WordNet5.0 / 1 vote

  1. ambition, aspiration, dreamnoun

    a cherished desire

    "his ambition is to own his own business"

    Synonyms:
    breathing in, aspiration, inhalation, inspiration, ambitiousness, pipe dream, dream, intake, dreaming

  2. ambition, ambitiousnessverb

    a strong drive for success

    Synonyms:
    ambitiousness, dream, aspiration

  3. ambitionverb

    have as one's ambition

Synonyms, Antonyms & Associated Words0.0 / 0 votes

  1. ambitionnoun

    Synonyms:
    aspiration, emulation

How to use ambition in a sentence?

  1. Marcus Aurelius:

    Who exactly are these people that you want to be admired by? Aren’t they the same people you are in the habit of calling crazy? And is this your life ambition, then – to win the approval of lunatics?

  2. President Barack Obama:

    Here in Paris, let's secure an agreement that builds in ambition, where progress paves the way for regularly updated targets.

  3. Jorge Rodriguez:

    People are rising up to say enough of these irregularities and the Fujimori ambition of returning to power.

  4. Carl Sagan:

    The universe is not required to be in perfect harmony with human ambition.

  5. Cesare Pavese:

    All sins have their origin in a sense of inferiority otherwise called ambition.

How to pronounce ambition?

How to say ambition in sign language?

Words popularity by usage frequency

rankingword
#3729satisfaction
#15031ambition
#17149moderation
#22457humility
#25345indifference
#41894contentment
#57236carelessness

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