UNAMBITIOUS Synonyms: 15 Similar and Opposite Words

unambitious

adjective

Definition of unambitious

as in indolent

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of unambitious Clearly, this was a bit wordy, so this became ‘parking the bus’, which initially found popularity as an insult for unambitious football, then later was used in a more neutral manner to mean deep defending. — Michael Cox, New York Times, 14 Dec. 2025 Has this embarrassment of visual riches guaranteed that any story told on a smaller canvas is doomed to feel unambitious in comparison? — Richard Edwards, Space.com, 10 Sep. 2025 Advertisement Advertisement Se-ri’s plan to straighten her hair (and fix her life) finds new focus with the arrival of Han Yun-seok (Mercy For None’s Gong Myung), a quiet, seemingly unambitious transfer student from Seoul whose mother, Baek Jang-mi (Hong Eun-hee), happens to be a hair stylist. — Kayti Burt, Time, 29 Aug. 2025 President-elect Joe Biden will need luck and skill to push through even relatively unambitious legislation, such as a new stimulus package and infrastructure spending. — Francis Fukuyama, Foreign Affairs, 18 Jan. 2021 See All Example Sentences for unambitious

Recent Examples of Synonyms for unambitious

Adjective

Possibly a deepening and widening of populist politics, as both the far right and the far left win over more of the allegedly indolent youth.

— Jay Caspian Kang, New Yorker, 25 Aug. 2026
Every journey with indolent systemic mastocytosis (ISM) is unique, but my journey with ISM has been especially unique.

— Shannon Dingey, Health, 1 July 2026

Definition of indolent

Adjective

Why didn’t Tania just get one of her fellow Council wokesters to hire her shiftless, entitled kin?

— Howie Carr, Boston Herald, 28 Sep. 2025
After the volunteers slink back to Paddy’s, the most shiftless person on campus will once again be Principal Coleman (Janelle James), whose ineptitude and vanity don’t prevent her from advocating for the students from time to time.

— Hannah Giorgis, The Atlantic, 9 Jan. 2025

Definition of shiftless

Browse Nearby Words

unambiguous

unambitious

unambivalent

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“Unambitious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unambitious. Accessed 2 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of unambitious

adjective

Example Sentences

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