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Glite Dictionary
vaultingly ambitious

vaultingly ambitious

8.7
Wanting very great success that is unlikely to happen
  • adjective
  • Literature
translation icon : desmesuradamente ambicioso
  • Critics described the project as vaultingly ambitious, questioning whether it could ever be completed.

Examples

  • Her vaultingly ambitious plans for the future surprised everyone.

  • Her vaultingly ambitious goals propelled her to the top of her field.

  • The young CEO had vaultingly ambitious plans to transform the entire industry within five years.

  • He is vaultingly ambitious and dreams of becoming a billionaire.

  • Her vaultingly ambitious plans to start a global charity impressed everyone at the meeting.

  • The artist's vaultingly ambitious project aimed to paint a mural that would cover an entire building.

  • Despite facing numerous obstacles, his vaultingly ambitious dreams of becoming an astronaut never wavered.

Synonyms

overweening
vsvaultingly ambitious
  • Formal
2 9.8

Too much pride and confidence that makes people dislike you

is about excessive desire without the added proud or arrogant tone
overambitious
vsvaultingly ambitious
1 5.3

Having goals that are too high to reach

describes an extremely high level of drive beyond usual excessive goals
overreaching
vsvaultingly ambitious
1 7.3

Trying to do more than is reasonable or possible

focuses on excessive desire without necessarily taking impractical actions
wild-eyed
vsvaultingly ambitious
1 8.0

Having very extreme ideas or plans that are unlikely to work

is excessive drive that may not be irrational or impractical
overlofty
vsvaultingly ambitious
8.2

Having goals or ideas that are too high and unrealistic

is focused on an extreme level of personal drive rather than style
highflying
vsvaultingly ambitious
6.7

A person, company, or plan that is very successful and ambitious

is the same extreme desire but without implying actual success
pushful
vsvaultingly ambitious
8.4

Being strongly determined to succeed, often in a pushy way

is intense striving but not necessarily excessively high or unrealistic

Antonyms

unambitious
3 4.1

Not wanting to try hard to reach higher goals

How Ambitious

vaultingly ambitious
  • Literature
8.7
overreaching
1 7.3
driven
3.5
ambitious
128 3.7

Surface Forms

vaultingly ambitious positive

Morphology

vaultingly + ambitious

The adverb 'vaultingly' is morphologically related to 'vault'/'vaulting' (to leap or soar), so combined with 'ambitious' it conveys a metaphorical sense of soaring or excessively high ambition. Because the derived adverb is rare and the leap/soar metaphor is not immediately predictable for an average B1 learner, the relation is partially clear but not fully transparent.

Etymology

The adjective vaultingly ambitious comes from the image of vaulting, making a big jump or trying to leap over a very high wall. One famous line in Shakespeare used 'vaulting ambition' to show a desire that jumps too high and then falls, so the phrase now means 'having too much ambition'.