ambition vs spirit

ambition

noun
  • An object of an ardent desire. 

  • 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. 

  • 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. 

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

spirit

noun
  • Intent; real meaning; opposed to the letter, or formal statement. 

  • A supernatural being, often but not exclusively without physical form; ghost, fairy, angel. 

  • Energy; ardour. 

  • Temper or disposition of mind; mental condition or disposition; intellectual or moral state. 

  • A volatile liquid, such as alcohol. The plural form spirits is a generic term for distilled alcoholic beverages. 

  • The manner or style of something. 

  • Stannic chloride. 

  • One who is vivacious or lively; one who evinces great activity or peculiar characteristics of mind or temper. 

  • The soul of a person or other creature. 

  • Enthusiasm. 

verb
  • Sometimes followed by up: to animate with vigour; to excite; to encourage; to inspirit. 

  • To carry off, especially in haste, secrecy, or mystery. 

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