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Motivation vs. Ambition: What's the Difference?

Motivation and Ambition Definitions

Motivation

The act or process of motivating
The coach's effective motivation of her players.

Ambition

An eager or strong desire to achieve something, such as fame or power.

Motivation

The state of being motivated; having a desire or willingness to act
Students with a high level of motivation.

Ambition

The object or goal desired
Her ambition is the presidency.

Motivation

Something that motivates; an inducement, reason, or goal
“If your primary motivation in life is to be moral, you don't become an artist” (Mary Gordon).
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Ambition

Desire for exertion or activity; energy
Had no ambition to go dancing.

Motivation

Willingness of action especially in behavior.

Ambition

Eager or inordinate desire for some object that confers distinction, as preferment, honor, superiority, political power, or fame; desire to distinguish one's self from other people.
My son, John, wants to be a firefighter very much. He has a lot of ambition.

Motivation

The action of motivating.

Ambition

(countable) An object of an ardent desire.
My ambition is to own a helicopter.
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Motivation

Something which motivates.

Ambition

A desire, as in (sense 1), for another person to achieve these things.

Motivation

An incentive or reason for doing something.

Ambition

(uncountable) A personal quality similar to motivation, not necessarily tied to a single goal.

Motivation

(advertising) A research rating that measures how the rational and emotional elements of a commercial affect consumer intention to consider, visit, or buy something.
The motivation scores showed that 65% of people wanted to visit our website to learn more about the offer after watching the commercial.

Ambition

(obsolete) The act of going about to solicit or obtain an office, or any other object of desire; canvassing.

Motivation

The act or process of motivating.

Ambition

To seek after ambitiously or eagerly; to covet.

Motivation

The mental process that arouses an organism to action; as, a large part of a teacher's job is to give students the motivation to learn on their own.

Ambition

The act of going about to solicit or obtain an office, or any other object of desire; canvassing.
[I] used no ambition to commend my deeds.

Motivation

The goal or mental image of a goal that creates a motivation{2}; as, the image of a peaceful world is a powerful motivation for only a rare few individuals.

Ambition

An eager, and sometimes an inordinate, desire for preferment, honor, superiority, power, or the attainment of something.
Cromwell, I charge thee, fling a way ambition:By that sin fell the angels.
The pitiful ambition of possessing five or six thousand more acres.

Motivation

The psychological feature that arouses an organism to action toward a desired goal; the reason for the action; that which gives purpose and direction to behavior;
We did not understand his motivation
He acted with the best of motives

Ambition

To seek after ambitiously or eagerly; to covet.
Pausanias, ambitioning the sovereignty of Greece, bargains with Xerxes for his daughter in marriage.

Motivation

The condition of being motivated;
His motivation was at a high level

Ambition

A cherished desire;
His ambition is to own his own business

Motivation

The act of motivating; providing incentive

Ambition

A strong drive for success

Ambition

Have as one's ambition

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