ambitieux
/ɑ̃.bi.sjø/
The English word ambitious is translated into French as ambitieux.
The word is an adjective used to describe someone who is possessing or controlled by ambition. You can use modifiers such as très ambitieux (very ambitious), incroyablement ambitieuse (incredibly ambitious) or peu ambitieux (not very ambitious).
Meaning: possessing, or controlled by, ambition (adj)
How does it change in a sentence?
The form of the adjective changes depending on the gender and number of the noun it describes. ambitieux is used with masculine singular nouns and is also the form used for masculine plural nouns. The feminine singular form is ambitieuse, and the feminine plural form is ambitieuses.
How do you pronounce it?
/ɑ̃.bi.sjø/
Did you know?
- The word ambitieux shares the same Latin root, ambitio, as the English word 'ambition', which originally referred to the act of 'going around' to solicit votes during elections.
- In French, describing a person as ambitieux can sometimes carry a slightly more negative, social-climbing connotation than the English word 'ambitious' often does.
- While ambitieux describes the person, French uses the noun ambition to describe the drive, and in some historical contexts, having too much ambition was viewed as a moral failing or a sin of pride.
Examples in context
- Je suis très ambitieux.I'm very ambitious.This sentence is useful for expressing your own level of ambition using ambitieux.Tatoeba #5403378 by Scorpionvenin14, translation #5975681 by CK
- Tom est très ambitieux.Tom is very ambitious.This sentence is useful for describing someone else's ambition using ambitieux.Tatoeba #5461632 by Aiji, translation #3417615 by CK
- C'est un plan ambitieux.It's an ambitious plan.This sentence is useful for describing an ambitious plan using ambitieux.Tatoeba #1476617 by sacredceltic, translation #2773724 by CM
- Marie est une personne ambitieuse et travailleuse.Marie is an ambitious and hardworking person.
- Paul a des objectifs ambitieux pour sa carrière.Paul has ambitious goals for his career.
- Mon ami Jean est ambitieux, il veut réussir dans la vie.My friend Jean is ambitious, he wants to succeed in life.
- Ma sœur est ambitieuse, elle ne se contente jamais de peu.My sister is ambitious, she never settles for less.
- 30 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Gabriel and Manon are discussing their career goals.
- GabrielJe veux devenir directeur d'ici deux ans.I want to become a director within two years.
- ManonTu es vraiment ambitieux, Gabriel !You are really ambitious, Gabriel!
- GabrielC'est vrai, mais je travaille dur pour ça.It's true, but I work hard for it.
- ManonC'est admirable d'être aussi ambitieux.It is admirable to be so ambitious.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “ambitious” translations and entries ambitieux, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries ambitieux, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
