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📕 rednote ID(小红书号)：3881567312

Aspiration: Definition, Usage & Key Examples (2 meaning)

Meaning 1：strong desire (aspiration)

aspiration 🔊

/ˌæspəˈreɪʃn/

a strong wish to achieve something important in your life.

Aspiration concept illustration: person determinedly looking at a mountain peak goal.

strong desire 🔊

➕

/strɒŋ dɪˈzaɪə(r)/

A cherished and ambitious hope or goal that provides motivation and direction in life.

📁 Category：Social Roles 🔖 Level：Intermediate

📘 Details & Usage

📖 Root Explanation

From Latin 'aspirare' (to breathe upon, desire), from 'ad-' (to) + 'spirare' (to breathe).

💡 Mnemonic

Think: ASPIRE to achieve. Your ASPIRATION is what you ASPIRE to be.

📖 Example

His lifelong aspiration is to become a top cardiac surgeon and save many lives. 🔊 His lifelong strong desire is to become a top cardiac surgeon and save many lives.

🔗 Collocations

noble aspiration – a morally good or admirable goal

cherished aspiration – a hope or ambition that is deeply valued

fulfill an aspiration – to achieve a long-held goal or dream

🔄 Synonyms

ambition (n.) – a strong desire to achieve something, typically requiring determination

dream (n.) – a cherished aspiration, ambition, or ideal

goal (n.) – the object of a person's ambition or effort; an aim or desired result

🚫 Antonyms

apathy (n.) – lack of interest, enthusiasm, or concern; the opposite of strong desire

indifference (n.) – lack of interest or concern about goals or outcomes

🌱 Derivatives

aspire (v.) – to direct one's hopes or ambitions towards achieving something

aspirational (adj.) – having or characterized by aspirations to achieve social prestige or material success

📖 Cultural Story

Derives from the Latin verb 'aspirare', literally 'to breathe upon'. This sense of 'breathing towards' something evolved metaphorically into 'desiring' or 'striving for' a goal, linking the physical act of breath to the spirit of ambition.

Meaning 2：inhalation (of foreign matter) (aspiration)

aspiration 🔊

/ˌæspəˈreɪʃn/

the act of breathing something into your lungs, especially by accident.

Medical aspiration diagram showing foreign matter entering the airway or lungs.

inhalation (of foreign matter) 🔊

➕

/ˌɪnhəˈleɪʃn əv ˈfɒrɪn ˈmætə(r)/

The medical act of drawing a foreign substance, such as food, liquid, or vomit, into the airway or lungs during breathing.

📁 Category：Diet & Health 🔖 Level：Intermediate

📘 Details & Usage

📖 Example

Drinking water too quickly can lead to aspiration, causing you to cough uncontrollably. 🔊 Drinking water too quickly can lead to the inhalation of foreign matter, causing you to cough uncontrollably.

🔗 Collocations

risk of aspiration – the potential for foreign material to enter the airway

aspiration pneumonia – a lung infection caused by inhaling food, stomach acid, or saliva

prevent aspiration – to take measures to stop foreign matter from entering the lungs

🔄 Synonyms

inhalation (n.) – the action of breathing in; in a medical context, can imply breathing in something harmful

ingestion (n.) – the process of taking food or other substance into the body; related but not identical (aspiration is into lungs, ingestion is into stomach)

🚫 Antonyms

exhalation (n.) – the process of breathing air out of the lungs

expulsion (n.) – the action of forcing something out, such as coughing to clear the airway