Adjectives for Goals: Ambitious, Realistic, Long-Term (and Football Goals)
Good adjectives for a goal say how hard it is (ambitious, challenging, modest, realistic), how clear it is (specific, measurable, concrete, vague), when it is due (short-term, long-term, immediate) or how much it matters (main, key, ultimate, personal). In everyday English the most common pairings are an ambitious goal, a realistic goal, a long-term goal, a common goal and the ultimate goal.
“Goal” has a second meaning too: a goal scored in football, hockey and similar games, where people say a stunning goal, a late goal, an own goal. Both meanings are covered below, with an example sentence for every word, a quick picker, the verbs that go with goal, words that are easy to misuse, a model paragraph and a practice set with answers. If you want words for the person who sets big goals rather than the goals themselves, see adjectives for ambition.
Contents
- Quick picker
- How hard the goal is
- How realistic it is
- How clear it is
- When it is due
- How much it matters
- Whose goal it is and what kind
- SMART goals
- Describing a goal you have reached
- Adjectives for a goal in sport
- Verbs that go with goal
- Words that are easy to misuse
- A model paragraph
- Practice with answers
- Quick answers
Quick picker
| To say the goal is… | Try |
|---|---|
| big and hard | ambitious, challenging, demanding, lofty, bold |
| small or easy | modest, simple, easy, small, low-key |
| possible | realistic, achievable, attainable, reachable, doable |
| probably impossible | unrealistic, impossible, far-fetched, out of reach |
| clear | clear, specific, concrete, well-defined, measurable |
| not clear | vague, fuzzy, broad, open-ended, abstract |
| soon | immediate, short-term, near-term, urgent |
| far away | long-term, eventual, lifelong, ultimate |
| the most important | main, primary, chief, key, central, overriding |
| shared | common, shared, joint, collective, team |
| a football goal that was great | stunning, brilliant, spectacular, superb, wonderful |
How hard the goal is
| Adjective | What it means for a goal | Example |
|---|---|---|
| ambitious | large in scope and hard to reach (for a person, it means “wanting to succeed”) | Running a marathon within a year of taking up running is an ambitious goal. |
| challenging | hard, but in a way that stretches you | Reading twenty books this year is a challenging goal for a busy parent. |
| demanding | needs a lot of time, effort or skill | Passing all four exams in one sitting is a demanding goal. |
| lofty | high-minded and very large; slightly formal, sometimes ironic | The charity’s lofty goal is to end child hunger in the region. |
| bold / audacious | daring; audacious adds a hint of risk or cheek | Doubling the club’s membership in a year was an audacious goal. |
| daunting | so big that it is discouraging at first | Writing a whole thesis felt like a daunting goal in September. |
| stretch (as in stretch goal) | a target set above the expected one, on purpose | Our target is 500 sign-ups; 800 is the stretch goal. |
| modest | small and sensible, without being dismissive | My goal for the first week is modest: walk for twenty minutes a day. |
| simple / easy | easy to understand or to do; easy is plainer and less flattering | The goal is simple: no phones at the dinner table. |
Note that “simple” and “easy” are not the same. “Our goal is simple” usually means it is easy to explain; it can still be hard to do. “Quit sugar for a month” is a simple goal but not an easy one.
How realistic it is
| Adjective | What it means for a goal | Example |
|---|---|---|
| realistic | sensible given the time and resources you have | Losing half a kilo a week is a realistic goal for most adults. |
| achievable / attainable | can be reached; attainable is a little more formal | Break the project into smaller, achievable goals. |
| reachable / within reach | close to being achieved | With two games left, promotion is now a reachable goal. |
| doable | informal for achievable | Ten pages a day? That’s doable. |
| feasible | possible to do in practice (not “easy”) | The engineers said the goal was feasible but expensive. |
| unrealistic | very unlikely with the time or resources available | Fluency in three months is an unrealistic goal for most learners. |
| far-fetched | so unlikely it is hard to take seriously | A gold medal at her first competition seemed a far-fetched goal. |
| elusive | keeps escaping you, however hard you try | A perfect night’s sleep remained an elusive goal. |
How clear it is
| Adjective | What it means for a goal | Example |
|---|---|---|
| clear | easy to understand, with no doubt about what success looks like | The team works better when it has one clear goal. |
| specific | names exactly what will happen | “Get fitter” is vague; “swim 1 km without stopping” is a specific goal. |
| concrete | real and practical rather than an idea or feeling | We need concrete goals, not slogans. |
| measurable / quantifiable | you can count or measure progress | Cutting response times to under four hours is a measurable goal. |
| well-defined | its limits are clearly set out | A well-defined goal stops a project growing out of control. |
| vague / fuzzy | unclear about what success means | “Be happier” is a vague goal unless you decide what would change. |
| broad | covers a wide area; fine for a mission, weak for a plan | The broad goal is better health; the specific one is fewer sick days. |
| open-ended | has no fixed end point | Learning to paint is an open-ended goal, and that is part of the pleasure. |
When it is due
| Adjective | What it means for a goal | Example |
|---|---|---|
| immediate | the next thing to achieve, starting now | Our immediate goal is to stop the leak; repairs can wait. |
| short-term | days, weeks or a few months | My short-term goal is to finish the beginner course by March. |
| near-term / medium-term | business words for the next one or two years | The medium-term goal is to open a second shop. |
| long-term | years away | Her long-term goal is to run her own veterinary practice. |
| interim | a step on the way to a bigger goal | As an interim goal, we will reach 50 customers by June. |
| eventual / ultimate | the final aim that the others lead to | The ultimate goal is a cure, not just better treatment. |
| lifelong | held for most of a life | Visiting Japan was his lifelong goal. |
| annual / yearly | set for one year | Annual goals are reviewed every December. |
| time-bound | has a fixed deadline (a SMART-goal word) | Make each goal time-bound: say when it will be done. |
“Urgent” can describe a goal, but it usually describes a task or problem: “an urgent task” sounds more natural than “an urgent goal”.
How much it matters
| Adjective | What it means for a goal | Example |
|---|---|---|
| main / chief | the most important one; main is the everyday word | The main goal of the trip is to see my grandmother. |
| primary | first in importance; a little more formal | The primary goal of the study is to measure reading speed. |
| key / central | one of the most important | Reducing waste is a key goal of the new policy. |
| overriding / overarching | more important than all the others; overarching also means “covering the others” | Safety is the overriding goal on any building site. |
| critical | essential to success (not the “finding fault” sense) | Hiring a project manager is a critical goal for the first month. |
| worthwhile / worthy | deserving the effort | Learning sign language is a worthwhile goal. |
| secondary | less important, but still a goal | Saving money is a secondary goal; comfort comes first. |
Whose goal it is and what kind
| Adjective | What it means for a goal | Example |
|---|---|---|
| personal | belongs to one person, often private | My personal goal this year is to call my parents every Sunday. |
| professional / career | about work | A clear career goal makes interviews easier. |
| academic | about study and grades | His academic goal is a place on the nursing course. |
| common / shared / joint | held by more than one person | The two rival groups found a common goal in saving the park. |
| financial | about money | Our financial goal is to clear the credit card by summer. |
| strategic | part of a larger plan, usually in business or politics | Entering the Asian market is the firm’s main strategic goal. |
| meaningful | connected to what you care about | Goals feel easier to keep when they are meaningful to you. |
| noble / selfless | aimed at helping others | Raising money for the hospice was a noble goal. |
SMART goals
Many workplaces and schools describe a good goal as SMART. The idea is usually traced to George T. Doran, who proposed it in a 1981 article in Management Review. Today the letters are most often explained as:
- Specific: it says exactly what will happen.
- Measurable: progress can be counted.
- Achievable (or attainable): it can be done with the resources you have.
- Relevant: it matters to the bigger aim.
- Time-bound: it has a deadline.
Versions differ. Doran’s own list used assignable for A and realistic for R, and some organisations use other words. If you are writing for a particular school or company, use the letters it uses.
Describing a goal you have reached
People searching for “words to describe a goal achieved” usually want a way to say it is done. English mostly uses verbs and participles here:
| Word | Example |
|---|---|
| achieved / reached / met | Goal reached: we raised £2,000 for the food bank. |
| accomplished | It felt good to see one accomplished goal on the list. |
| fulfilled | Opening the café was a fulfilled dream, not just a goal. |
| hard-won / hard-earned | Her degree was a hard-won goal after six years of evening classes. |
| long-awaited | Promotion was the long-awaited goal of the whole season. |
| exceeded / surpassed | We set 100 sign-ups and exceeded the goal by forty. |
| missed / unmet | One unmet goal does not cancel a good year. |
For the person who reached it, adjectives such as proud, relieved, satisfied and accomplished work well: “She felt quietly proud.”
Adjectives for a goal in sport
In football, hockey, handball and similar games, a goal is a score. The adjectives here are quite different and are used constantly by commentators.
| Adjective | What it suggests | Example |
|---|---|---|
| stunning / spectacular / superb | a beautiful, impressive goal | He scored a stunning goal from thirty metres. |
| late / last-minute / injury-time | scored near the end | A late goal won the match for the visitors. |
| early | scored near the start | An early goal settled the home team’s nerves. |
| winning / decisive | the goal that decided the game | She headed the winning goal in the final. |
| equalising (UK) / tying (US) | made the score level | The equalising goal came with five minutes left. |
| scrappy / untidy | scored in a messy way, often from close range | It was a scrappy goal, but it counted. |
| disallowed | scored but cancelled by the referee | A disallowed goal for offside left the fans furious. |
| own (as in own goal) | put into your own team’s net by mistake; also used for a self-inflicted mistake in general | The defender’s own goal gave them the lead. The new tax was a political own goal. |
| solo / individual | made by one player beating several opponents | His solo goal is still shown on highlight reels. |
Verbs that go with goal
Choosing the right verb often matters as much as the adjective.
- set a goal (decide on it): “Set one goal for each month.”
- pursue / work towards a goal: “She is working towards her goal of becoming a pilot.”
- achieve / reach / meet / hit a goal: “We hit our goal two weeks early.”
- miss / fall short of a goal: “We fell short of our goal by ten votes.”
- score a goal (sport only): “He scored two goals.”
“The goal of” + noun or -ing form is common: “the goal of the project”, “the goal of reducing waste”. So is “a goal to” + verb: “my goal is to save more”.
Words that are easy to misuse
| Not quite right | Better | Why |
|---|---|---|
| a determined goal | a firm goal / a fixed goal; or a determined person | Determined describes people, not goals. |
| a capital goal | a main goal / a primary goal | Capital in this sense (“most important”) is now old-fashioned for things like goals. |
| It is important goal. | It is an important goal. | A singular countable noun needs an article. |
| a feasible goal (meaning “easy”) | an easy goal | Feasible means “possible”, not “easy”. |
| the most realistic of the two goals | the more realistic of the two goals | Use the comparative for two things; many careful writers insist on it. |
| a very unachievable goal | an unachievable goal / a very difficult goal | “Unachievable” is already absolute; very adds nothing. |
| our short goal | our short-term goal | A “short goal” sounds like its length, not its timescale. |
| end goal | fine in speech; goal or final goal in careful writing | Some editors call it redundant, since a goal is already an end point. |
A model paragraph
When I started learning Spanish, my goal was vague: “speak it one day”. It helped only when I turned it into something specific and time-bound: hold a ten-minute conversation with my neighbour by the end of the summer. That was still ambitious for a beginner, but it was realistic, and it was measurable, because either the conversation happened or it did not. The ultimate goal is the same as it was at the start. The difference is that now I can see the next step.
The adjectives that do the work here are vague, specific, time-bound, ambitious, realistic, measurable and ultimate; each one tells the reader something different about the same goal.
Practice with answers
Choose the best word.
- “Get better at maths” is a (vague / specific) goal.
- Saving £50 a month on a small salary is a (realistic / far-fetched) goal.
- Our (immediate / lifelong) goal is to find a room for tonight.
- Peace in the region was the (ultimate / interim) goal of the talks.
- The players and the fans share a (common / determined) goal.
- That was a (stunning / measurable) goal from the edge of the box.
- Correct the sentence: “It is important goal for us.”
- Correct the sentence: “This is the most realistic of the two goals.”
Answers: 1. vague. 2. realistic. 3. immediate. 4. ultimate. 5. common (determined describes people). 6. stunning (sport sense). 7. “It is an important goal for us.” 8. “This is the more realistic of the two goals.”
Quick answers
What is a word for a big goal?
Ambitious is the everyday choice. Lofty, bold, audacious and grand add more colour; a stretch goal is a deliberately high target in business.
What are positive adjectives for objectives?
Clear, specific, realistic, achievable, worthwhile, meaningful and well-defined all praise an objective. Objective is slightly more formal than goal, so these more formal words suit it well.
What is the difference between a goal, an aim and an objective?
They overlap. In planning, an aim or goal is often the broad purpose, and objectives are the specific, measurable steps towards it. In everyday speech the three are used almost interchangeably.
Is it “achieve a goal” or “reach a goal”?
Both are correct and common. Meet and hit are often used for numerical targets: “We hit our sales goal.”
How do you describe a goal in sport?
Say how good it was (stunning, superb), when it came (early, late), what it did (winning, equalising) or how it happened (scrappy, solo, own).
For more on how adjectives work in a sentence, see what is an adjective, and for a wider list of describing words, describing words.
Checked against Merriam-Webster, the Chicago Manual of Style and the AP Stylebook. Spotted an error? Tell us — see our editorial policy.
