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driven

/ˈdrɪvən/
/ˈdrɪvɛn/
IPA guide

If you're driven, you're strongly compelled or motivated to achieve a goal. If you're a driven gymnast, you spend hours in the gym each night perfecting your balance beam routine.

If you know someone who is incredibly ambitious and hard working, you can call them driven. It takes a driven student to make it through medical school, and a driven dog musher to complete the Iditarod. In other words, you need drive, or determination, to achieve these things. Driven can also mean "moved and piled into drifts by wind," often in the phrase "driven snow." When combined with another noun, it can mean "propelled or powered," as in "a wind-driven boat."

Definitions of driven
  1. adjective
    compelled forcibly by an outside agency
    synonyms: goaded
    involuntary, nonvoluntary, unvoluntary
    not subject to the control of the will
  2. adjective
    urged or forced to action through moral pressure
    synonyms: impelled
    motivated
    provided with a motive or given incentive for action
  3. adjective
    strongly motivated to succeed
    synonyms: compulsive, determined
    ambitious, aspirational
    having a strong desire for success or achievement
Pronunciation
US
/ˈdrɪvən/
UK
/ˈdrɪvɛn/
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DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘driven'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors. Send us feedback
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