-io

an action, process, or result

Forms

-io
-ion- — The longer form used before Latin endings.
-ion — The form carried into many English nouns.

Origin

An old Latin noun ending, inherited from earlier Indo-European word formation.

Note

The ending can name both an activity and what that activity produces.

23 / 371

noun

ambition

am-BIH-shuhn/æmˈbɪʃn/

A strong desire directed toward achievement.

The runner's ambition shows as she gazes eagerly at the championship trophy.

A runner interrupts lacing her spikes to gaze with eager determination at a championship trophy displayed beyond her.

Etymology

ambLatinon both sides or around

+itLatingo

+ionLatinan action, process, or result

The original image was going around to solicit votes, which linked canvassing with a desire for honor or advancement. Ambition later broadened from an often-disapproved craving for status to a potentially positive drive to achieve.

In context

TEDx Talks5:08

who had no interest in patrolling the class with the cane, while I was full of ambition to do so.

We should all be feminists | Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie | TEDxEuston

More examples

He has plenty of ambition but needs a clearer plan.
Their shared ambition is to make the school accessible.
She puts her career ambitions aside while caring for her father.

Forms

ambition · ambitions

ambitious adjective — Strongly determined to achieve something significant.

Similar words

aspiration: Emphasizes a hoped-for achievement rather than a driving desire.
goal: Names a desired result without implying strong personal ambition.