Spelling.School · How to spell

How to spell ambitious

Ambitious is spelled A-M-B-I-T-I-O-U-S.

hear itam·bi·tious/æm'bɪʃəs/adjectiveSchwa and roots

What it means: Having a strong desire for success.

In a sentence: The ambitious cat wanted to climb the tallest tree in the garden.

The part people get wrong

Watch for an unstressed vowel that is hard to hear.

Same family: ambitiousness, ambitiously, driven, goal-oriented, aspiration. If you can spell one, the shared part carries to the others.

Where it comes from: “Ambitious” comes from the Latin word “ambitio,” which originally meant going around to ask for votes in an election. Over time it shifted from the idea of seeking public favor to the broader sense of strongly wanting success or achievement.

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