释义 |
aspirant, a. and n. (əˈspaɪərənt, occas. ˈæspɪrənt) [a. F. aspirant and ad. L. aspīrāntem, pr. pple. of aspirer, aspīrāre: see aspire v. and -ant.] A. adj. = aspiring. 1. Striving for a higher position, seeking distinction.
1814Southey Lett. (1856) II. 373, I receive plenty of letters from poets aspirant. 1850Mrs. Browning Poems I. 343 To muse upon eternity's constraint Round our aspirant souls. 2. Mounting up, ascending.
1845Mozley Blanco White, Ess. (1878) II. 134 Nature is retracing her aspirant steps. 1865Swinburne Dolores 249 With flame all round him aspirant Stood flushed..the tyrant. B. n. One who aspires; one who, with steady purpose, seeks advancement to high position, or the acquirement of some privilege or advantage.
1751Warburton Pope's Wks., Dunciad iv. 517 (Jod.) Each aspirant..had proved his qualification and claim. 1823Byron Juan xiv. 57 Perhaps she wished an aspirant profounder, But whatsoe'er she wished, she acted right. 1849Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. 253 The way to greatness was left clear to a new set of aspirants. b. Const. to, after, for.
1738Warburton Div. Legat. I. 138 The Aspirant to the Mysteries. 1835Browning Paracelsus ii. 45 Degrade me..To an aspirant after fame, not truth! 1863Kinglake Crimea (1876) I. xiv. 218 A calculating and practical aspirant to Empire. 1879B. Taylor Germ. Lit. 179 Aspirants for poetic honors. |