ambition vs cause

ambition

noun
  • A personal quality similar to motivation, not necessarily tied to a single goal. 

  • 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. 

  • An object of an ardent desire. 

  • A desire, as in (sense 1), for another person to achieve these things. 

verb
  • To seek after ambitiously or eagerly; to covet. 

cause

noun
  • A goal, aim or principle, especially one which transcends purely selfish ends. 

  • Sufficient reason for a state, as of emotion. 

  • A suit or action in court; any legal process by which a party endeavors to obtain his claim, or what he regards as his right; case; ground of action. 

  • The source of, or reason for, an event or action; that which produces or effects a result. 

verb
  • To actively produce as a result, by means of force or authority. 

  • To set off an event or action. 

How often have the words ambition and cause occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )