Skip to content
GREMockTests
GRE vocabulary

aspiration

nounHigh-frequency wordMore A words

a strong desire or ambition to achieve something, or the act of breathing in

Word origin: From Latin aspirare, to breathe upon (ad- to plus spirare to breathe).

Start a free GRE mock test 39 minutes · free · instant score
In a sentence

Aspiration in a sentence

Here are example sentences showing aspiration in a sentence.

Her aspiration to become a physician drove her to study relentlessly.

Her lifelong aspiration to direct an opera was finally realized at the age of sixty.

Synonyms
ambitionyearninggoaldesire
Antonyms
indifferenceapathyresignation

Quick GRE check

Question 1 of 3

3 questions, about 2 minutes. How would you do on the real test?

Verbal · Sentence Equivalence

The committee dismissed the proposal as blank, pointing out that its projected revenues depended on conditions no economy had ever sustained.

Select the two answers that give the sentence the same meaning. 0 of 2 selected.

Usage & nuance

Using “aspiration” well

Aspiration most often denotes a strong ambition or hope to achieve something. It also has a separate technical sense, the act of breathing in, which the GRE rarely tests.

Common questions

Questions about “aspiration”

Aspiration (noun) means a strong desire or ambition to achieve something, or the act of breathing in
Here is aspiration used in an example sentence: "Her aspiration to become a physician drove her to study relentlessly." Another example: "Her lifelong aspiration to direct an opera was finally realized at the age of sixty."
Common synonyms for aspiration include ambition, yearning, goal, desire.
Antonyms of aspiration include indifference, apathy, resignation.
Aspiration pairs with ambition, yearning, goal, and desire in GRE Verbal. Its antonyms indifference, apathy, and resignation mark the absence of ambition a passage may set against it.
Yes. Aspiration is a high-frequency GRE word, so it is worth prioritising as you build your vocabulary.

See these words the way the GRE tests them.

Take the free 39-minute GRE Quick Mock Test and meet words like this inside real Text Completion and Sentence Equivalence questions, with a worked solution for every answer.