n. 1
The act of aspiring or ardently desiring; an ardent wish or desire, chiefly after what is elevated or spiritual (with common adjunct adpositions being to and of).
Riley has an aspiration to become a doctor.
n. 2
The action of aspirating.
n. 3
A burst of air that follows the release of some consonants.
In Cambodian, aspiration is phonemic, so /p/ and /pʰ/ are different phonemes.

Related words

Word family: aspirational
Phrases: vacuum aspiration joint aspiration

Forms

Plural: aspirations → ambitions, desires, aims, dreams…

Choose the right word

Aspiration, Design, Endeavor, Purpose, Aim or Aims?

Aspiration, design, endeavor, purpose, referring to the mental acts by which the aim is attained, are often used as interchangeable with aim. Aspiration applies to what are viewed as noble aims; endeavor, design, intention, purpose, indifferently to the best or worst.

J. C. Fernald, English Synonyms and Antonyms (1914)

Example sentences

dream The time will come when your dream will come true.
desire It is true that we desire to live in a small town.
aim I aim to address any misconceptions he might have.
ambition He realized his ambition to sail around the world.
suction Yanni was carefully peeling the suction pad off.

Popularity over time

Word	1850 → 2019	Trend
aspiration		rising
dream		rising
desire		rising
aim		steady
ambition		rising
suction		falling

Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.

By length

3 letters: aim¹
4 letters: hope¹, mind¹, wish¹, goal¹
5 letters: cause¹, dream¹
6 letters: desire³, vision², intake²
7 letters: craving², longing², suction²
8 letters: ambition³, yearning²
9 letters: breathing², hankering³
10 letters: inhalation⁴
11 letters: inspiration⁴

The small number after each word is its number of syllables (desire³ = 3 syllables).

In other languages

Français: aspiration
Italiano: aspirazione
Español: aspiración
Deutsch: Aspiration
Català: aspiració