ambition vs pursue

ambition

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

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

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

pursue

verb
  • To follow urgently, originally with intent to capture or harm; to chase. 

  • To follow, travel down (a particular way, course of action etc.). 

  • To aim for, go after (a specified objective, situation etc.). 

  • To participate in (an activity, business etc.); to practise, follow (a profession). 

  • To act as a legal prosecutor. 

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