successful

[ suhk-ses-fuhl ]

adjective

1. achieving or having achieved success.
2. having attained wealth, position, honors, or the like.
3. resulting in or attended with success.

successful

/ səkˈsɛsfʊl /

adjective

1. having succeeded in one's endeavours
2. marked by a favourable outcome
3. having obtained fame, wealth, etc

Derived Forms

• sucˈcessfulness, noun
• sucˈcessfully, adverb

Other Words From

• suc·cessful·ly adverb
• suc·cessful·ness noun
• half-suc·cessful adjective
• half-suc·cessful·ly adverb
• half-suc·cessful·ness noun
• nonsuc·cessful adjective
• nonsuc·cessful·ly adverb
• presuc·cessful adjective
• presuc·cessful·ly adverb
• quasi-suc·cessful adjective
• quasi-suc·cessful·ly adverb
• semi·suc·cessful adjective
• semi·suc·cessful·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of successful¹

First recorded in 1580–90; success + -ful

Example Sentences

Many successful impact investors already follow this playbook.

From Fortune

I don’t know if these work from home or workout from home stocks will end up being as successful as these companies.

From Fortune

What are they passionate about, even when the world has titled them “successful.”

From Essence.com

Truth be told, building a successful startup is a never-ending learning curve.

From TechCrunch

Sarah, the CEO of a successful SEO agency, gets introduced to the CEO of another successful ecommerce company through a common friend.

From Search Engine Watch

Malaysian-based entrepreneur Tony Fernandes has turned AirAsia into the most successful low cost airline in southeast Asia.

From The Daily Beast

Do those things," he said,  "and you'll have half a chance of being successful.

From The Daily Beast

Beyoncé has, for close to a decade now, been a deity in entertainment: untouchable, successful, divine.

From The Daily Beast

Just how many fake nodes would be needed in order to pull off a successful Sybil attack against Tor is not known.

From The Daily Beast

But even interrogating successful proposals leads to unsatisfactory reasoning.

From The Daily Beast

Then, if you gentlemen are successful here, and capture Fulton and Jefferson City, our brightest hopes will be fulfilled.

From Project Gutenberg

The result of this mission was eminently successful; a special treaty was drawn up and Spain sold Louisiana to France.

From Project Gutenberg

A small contingent of the members hurried off to applaud the successful comic opera of the hour.

From Project Gutenberg

According to the general verdict, she was equally successful in oils and water-colors.

From Project Gutenberg

Not only have its fundamental principles been fully vindicated but in most details the working of the measure has been successful.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• fortunate
• fruitful
• happy
• lucky
• lucrative
• outstanding
• prosperous
• rewarding
• strong
• wealthy

How Do You Spell Successful?

Spelling tips for successful

The word successful is hard to spell because it can be hard to know which letters are doubled. Both the c and the middle s are doubled, but the f and l are not. 

How to spell successful: To be a success, you need to see (two Cs) Some Smarts (two Ss). This reminds you that success is spelled with a double C in the middle and a double S at the end. To spell successful, you add the base word (success) to the suffix -ful.