ambitious

/æmˈbɪʃ.əs/

//æmˈbɪʃ.əs// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"ambitious" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“ambitious” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #7,644 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.

#7,644
frequency rank, English
9
letters
12
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Having or showing ambition; wanting a lot of power, honor, respect, superiority, or other distinction.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

ambitious vs ambition
78% similar
ambitious vs ambiguous
78% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for ambitious
PropertyValue
Headwordambitious
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/æmˈbɪʃ.əs/
Letters9
Frequency rank#7,644
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “ambitious” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). ambitious lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for ambitious is 9 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /æmˈbɪʃ.əs/. Corpus data places it at rank #7,644 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for ambitious, with forms such as "abmitious", "ambbitious", and "ambiitous". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "ambition", "ambiguous", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English ambitious, from Middle French ambitieus, from Latin ambitiosus, from ambitio; see ambition. Compare with French ambitieux. The correct English form is ambitious, spelled A-M-B-I-T-I-O-U-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Having or showing ambition; wanting a lot of power, honor, respect, superiority, or other distinction.
  2. 2
    Very desirous
  3. 3
    Resulting from, characterized by, or indicating, ambition
  4. 4
    Hard to achieve.

Etymology

From Middle English ambitious, from Middle French ambitieus, from Latin ambitiosus, from ambitio; see ambition. Compare with French ambitieux.

Antonyms

nonambitiousunambitious

This word in other languages

ambicioso(Español)ambitieux(Français)ehrgeizig(Deutsch)ambicioso(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: abmitious,ambbitious,ambiitous,ambitiosu,ambitiouss,ambitiuos,ambitoius,ambittious,ambtiious,amibtious,ammbitious,mabitious

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of ambitious - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

abmitious2ambbitious1ambiitous2ambitiosu2ambitiouss1ambitiuos2ambitoius2ambittious1
Edit distance from "ambitious"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "ambitious"?
"ambitious" is spelled A-M-B-I-T-I-O-U-S. The IPA pronunciation is /æmˈbɪʃ.əs/.
What does "ambitious" mean?
As an adjective, "ambitious" means: Having or showing ambition; wanting a lot of power, honor, respect, superiority, or other distinction.
What words are commonly confused with "ambitious"?
"ambitious" is commonly confused with "ambition", "ambiguous". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "ambitious"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "ambitious" is /æmˈbɪʃ.əs/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "ambitious"?
From Middle English ambitious, from Middle French ambitieus, from Latin ambitiosus, from ambitio; see ambition. Compare with French ambitieux. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “ambitious”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is A-M-B-I-T-I-O-U-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /æmˈbɪʃ.əs/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “ambition” - see the side-by-side comparison. ambitious vs ambition
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list