ambition vs yearn

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. 

yearn

noun
  • A strong desire or longing; a yearning, a yen. 

verb
  • To make (cheese) from curdled milk. 

  • To long for something in the past with melancholy or nostalgia. 

  • Of milk: to curdle, especially in the cheesemaking process. 

  • Often followed by out: to perform (music) which conveys or say (words) which express strong desire or longing. 

  • Of music, words, etc.: to express strong desire or longing. 

  • To curdle (milk), especially in the cheesemaking process. 

  • To have a strong desire for something or to do something; to long for or to do something. 

  • Of cheese: to be made from curdled milk. 

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