Ambition vs. Pride — What's the Difference?
By Tayyaba Rehman & Urooj Arif — Updated on April 19, 2024
Ambition is the drive to achieve goals and succeed, often pushing individuals to strive for greatness; pride is a feeling of self-respect and personal worth, which can manifest as satisfaction from one’s achievements or qualities.
Difference Between Ambition and Pride
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Key Differences
Ambition is typically characterized by a strong desire to achieve success, power, or fame, driving individuals to set and pursue significant goals. In contrast, pride is the emotion or attitude of appreciating one's own abilities or achievements, often leading to a confident and self-assured demeanor.
While ambition propels a person towards aspiring for future accomplishments and continually pushing their limits, pride often focuses on the recognition and respect of existing qualities or past achievements. Ambition is about the journey and the aspirations, whereas pride is about the recognition and valuation of the destination reached.
Ambition can be a motivating force that encourages individuals to improve themselves and strive for excellence in various aspects of life, including career, education, or personal development. On the other hand, pride can serve as a grounding force, providing individuals with a sense of accomplishment and self-worth that reinforces their identity and value.
Ambitious individuals are usually forward-looking, constantly seeking new challenges and ways to exceed expectations. Conversely, pride can be retrospective, reflecting on past achievements and how these shape one's current status or self-perception.
While ambition is often seen as a necessary trait for professional and personal growth, excessive ambition can lead to negative outcomes if not tempered by other values. Similarly, while pride can enhance self-esteem and provide a sense of fulfillment, excessive pride can lead to arrogance or an inability to see one's faults.
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Comparison Chart
Definition
Desire to achieve success, power, or fame.
Satisfaction and self-respect from achievements or qualities.
Focus
Future goals and achievements.
Current or past achievements and self-worth.
Emotional Drive
Motivating, pushing towards goals.
Grounding, providing a sense of fulfillment.
Outlook
Forward-looking, seeks new challenges.
Retrospective, values past successes.
Potential Risks
Can lead to overreach or burnout.
Can lead to arrogance or complacency.
Compare with Definitions
Ambition
A strong desire to do or achieve something, typically requiring determination and hard work.
Her ambition to become a doctor motivated her through years of study.
Pride
A feeling of deep pleasure or satisfaction derived from one's own achievements.
He felt immense pride after winning the award.
Ambition
The condition of being ambitious; having a desire to succeed.
The young athlete's ambition was apparent in his intense training regimen.
Pride
The quality of having an excessively high opinion of oneself or one's importance.
His pride made it difficult for him to accept help from others.
Ambition
Aspiration or intention aimed at a high achievement.
His ambition led him to start his own company.
Pride
A sense of one's own proper dignity or value; self-respect.
She took pride in her work, ensuring everything was done perfectly.
Ambition
Personal drive for success or power.
Her ambition knows no bounds, always striving for the top.
Pride
A group of lions forming a social unit.
The pride of lions moved silently through the savannah.
Ambition
Determination to achieve success.
His ambition drove him to wake up early every day to practice.
Pride
The best state or condition of something; the prime.
The garden was her pride, meticulously cared for and loved.
Ambition
An eager or strong desire to achieve something, such as fame or power.
Pride
Pride is positive emotional response or attitude to something with an intimate connection to oneself, due to its perceived value. Oxford defines it amongst other things as "the quality of having an excessively high opinion of oneself or one's own importance" This may be related to one's own abilities or achievements, positive characteristics of friends or family, or one's country.
Ambition
The object or goal desired
Her ambition is the presidency.
Pride
A sense of one's own proper dignity or value; self-respect.
Ambition
Desire for exertion or activity; energy
Had no ambition to go dancing.
Pride
Pleasure or satisfaction taken in an achievement, possession, or association
Parental pride.
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.
Pride
Arrogant or disdainful conduct or treatment; haughtiness.
Ambition
(countable) An object of an ardent desire.
My ambition is to own a helicopter.
Pride
A cause or source of pleasure or satisfaction; the best of a group or class
These soldiers were their country's pride.
Ambition
A desire, as in (sense 1), for another person to achieve these things.
Pride
The most successful or thriving condition; prime
The pride of youth.
Ambition
(uncountable) A personal quality similar to motivation, not necessarily tied to a single goal.
Pride
An excessively high opinion of oneself; conceit.
Ambition
(obsolete) The act of going about to solicit or obtain an office, or any other object of desire; canvassing.
Pride
Mettle or spirit in horses.
Ambition
To seek after ambitiously or eagerly; to covet.
Pride
(Zoology) A group of lions, usually consisting of several related females and their offspring and a small number of unrelated adult males.
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.
Pride
A flamboyant or impressive group
A pride of acrobats.
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.
Pride
To indulge (oneself) in a feeling of pleasure or satisfaction
I pride myself on this beautiful garden.
Ambition
To seek after ambitiously or eagerly; to covet.
Pausanias, ambitioning the sovereignty of Greece, bargains with Xerxes for his daughter in marriage.
Pride
The quality or state of being proud; an unreasonable overestimation of one's own superiority in terms of talents, looks, wealth, importance etc., which manifests itself in lofty airs, distance, reserve and often contempt of others.
Ambition
A cherished desire;
His ambition is to own his own business
Pride
A sense of one's own worth, and scorn for what is beneath or unworthy of oneself; lofty self-respect; noble self-esteem; elevation of character; dignified bearing; rejection of shame
He took pride in his work.
He had pride of ownership in his department.
Ambition
A strong drive for success
Pride
Proud or disdainful behavior or treatment; insolence or arrogance of demeanor; haughty bearing and conduct; insolent exultation.
Ambition
Have as one's ambition
Pride
That of which one is proud; that which excites boasting or self-congratulation; the occasion or ground of self-esteem, or of arrogant and presumptuous confidence, as beauty, ornament, noble character, children, etc.
Pride
Show; ostentation; glory.
Pride
Highest pitch; elevation reached; loftiness; prime; glory.
Pride
Consciousness of power; fullness of animal spirits; mettle; wantonness.
Pride
A company of lions or other large felines.
A pride of lions often consists of a dominant male, his harem and their offspring, but young adult males 'leave home' to roam about as bachelors pride until able to seize/establish a family pride of their own.
Pride
(zoology) The small European lamprey species Petromyzon branchialis.
Pride
(reflexive) To take or experience pride in something; to be proud of it.
I pride myself on being a good judge of character.
Pride
A small European lamprey (Petromyzon branchialis); - called also prid, and sandpiper.
Pride
The quality or state of being proud; inordinate self-esteem; an unreasonable conceit of one's own superiority in talents, beauty, wealth, rank, etc., which manifests itself in lofty airs, distance, reserve, and often in contempt of others.
Those that walk in pride he is able to abase.
Pride that dines on vanity sups on contempt.
Pride
A sense of one's own worth, and abhorrence of what is beneath or unworthy of one; lofty self-respect; noble self-esteem; elevation of character; dignified bearing; proud delight; - in a good sense.
Thus to relieve the wretched was his pride.
A people which takes no pride in the noble achievements of remote ancestors will never achieve anything worthy to be remembered with pride by remote descendants.
Pride
Proud or disdainful behavior or treatment; insolence or arrogance of demeanor; haughty bearing and conduct; insolent exultation; disdain.
Let not the foot of pride come against me.
That hardly we escaped the pride of France.
Pride
That of which one is proud; that which excites boasting or self-gratulation; the occasion or ground of self-esteem, or of arrogant and presumptuous confidence, as beauty, ornament, noble character, children, etc.
Lofty trees yclad with summer's pride.
I will cut off the pride of the Philistines.
A bold peasantry, their country's pride.
Pride
Show; ostentation; glory.
Pride, pomp, and circumstance of glorious war.
Pride
Highest pitch; elevation reached; loftiness; prime; glory; as, to be in the pride of one's life.
A falcon, towering in her pride of place.
Pride
To indulge in pride, or self-esteem; to rate highly; to plume; - used reflexively.
Pluming and priding himself in all his services.
Pride
To be proud; to glory.
Pride
A feeling of self-respect and personal worth
Pride
Satisfaction with your (or another's) achievements;
He takes pride in his son's success
Pride
The trait of being spurred on by a dislike of falling below your standards
Pride
A group of lions
Pride
Unreasonable and inordinate self-esteem (personified as one of the deadly sins)
Pride
Be proud of;
He prides himself on making it into law school
Common Curiosities
How do ambition and pride affect relationships?
Ambition can motivate one to improve and contribute positively to relationships, while pride can either enhance self-worth within a relationship or cause conflicts if it turns into arrogance.
Is pride always a positive emotion?
Pride can be positive when it enhances self-esteem and fulfillment, but it can also be negative if it leads to arrogance or an inability to acknowledge one's flaws.
How can excessive ambition be harmful?
Excessive ambition can lead to unethical behavior, stress, burnout, and neglect of personal relationships or health.
How do societies view ambition and pride?
Societies generally value ambition as it contributes to progress and development, while pride is appreciated when it fosters a sense of community and achievement but criticized when it leads to social division or arrogance.
What is the main difference between ambition and pride?
Ambition is the desire to achieve and accomplish goals, while pride is the feeling of satisfaction from those achievements or inherent qualities.
Can ambition exist without pride?
Yes, one can be ambitious and strive for goals without necessarily feeling pride in their achievements, especially if they are driven by external motivations rather than internal satisfaction.
Can pride be cultivated?
Yes, pride can be cultivated by recognizing and appreciating one's achievements, maintaining high standards, and receiving positive feedback from others.
What are the benefits of having ambition?
Ambition leads to personal growth, achievement, and potentially, a more fulfilling and prosperous life.
Which is more important for professional success, ambition or pride?
Both traits are important; ambition drives one to pursue success, while pride can provide the motivation to maintain quality and integrity in one's work.
How can one balance ambition and pride?
Balancing ambition and pride involves striving for achievements while remaining humble, acknowledging both one's strengths and limitations, and valuing the contributions of others.
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Written by
Tayyaba RehmanTayyaba Rehman is a distinguished writer, currently serving as a primary contributor to askdifference.com. As a researcher in semantics and etymology, Tayyaba's passion for the complexity of languages and their distinctions has found a perfect home on the platform. Tayyaba delves into the intricacies of language, distinguishing between commonly confused words and phrases, thereby providing clarity for readers worldwide.
Co-written by
Urooj ArifUrooj is a skilled content writer at Ask Difference, known for her exceptional ability to simplify complex topics into engaging and informative content. With a passion for research and a flair for clear, concise writing, she consistently delivers articles that resonate with our diverse audience.
