Definition of "aspirant" []

• One who aspires, as to advancement, honors, or a high position. (noun)
• Seeking recognition, distinction, or advancement. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Mr Clegg insisted that "alarm clock Britain," which he described as the "aspirant middle classes" who were not comfortably off but worked hard to get ahead, would also benefit from putting action on social mobility at the heart of social policy."
• "Anyhow, come election time, many people overseas will be delighted to demonstrate their ‘devotion to Britain’ (a quality the Uncle Nick expects to find by the bucketful in aspirant British Citizens) and their everlasting thanks to the great party of Palmerston and Thorpe by hanging up Liberal ‘Democrat’ posters in downtown Ougadougou or the leafy suburbs of Conakry."
• "After stumbling in both mass-market and subprime lending, former Chief Executive Michael Geoghegan and other executives refocused the bank's strategy, going after the affluent and what HSBC calls the "aspirant" affluent."