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success

[suhk-ses]
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noun

the favorable or prosperous termination of attempts or endeavors; the accomplishment of one's goals.
the attainment of wealth, position, honors, or the like.
a performance or achievement that is marked by success, as by the attainment of honors: The play was an instant success.
a person or thing that has had success, as measured by attainment of goals, wealth, etc.: She was a great success on the talk show.
Obsolete. outcome.

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RELATED WORDS

prosperity, advance, achievement, win, accomplishment, profit, benefit, victory, gain, realization, progress, happiness, fame, triumph, boom, arrival, hit, savvy, ascendancy, walkover

Origin of success

1530–40; < Latin successus, equivalent to succēd-, stem of succēdere to succeed + -tus suffix of v. action, with dt > ss
Related formssuc·cess·less, adjectivesuc·cess·less·ly, adverbsuc·cess·less·ness, nounnon·suc·cess, nounpre·suc·cess, nounsem·i·suc·cess, adjective, noun

Synonyms for success

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR success ON THESAURUS.COM
2. achievement, fame, triumph.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for success

Contemporary Examples of success

Historical Examples of success

British Dictionary definitions for success

success

noun

the favourable outcome of something attempted
the attainment of wealth, fame, etc
an action, performance, etc, that is characterized by success
a person or thing that is successful
obsolete any outcome
Derived Formssuccessless, adjective

Word Origin for success

C16: from Latin successus an outcome, from succēdere to succeed
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for success
n.

1530s, "result, outcome," from Latin successus "an advance, succession, happy outcome," from succedere "come after" (see succeed). Meaning "accomplishment of desired end" (good success) first recorded 1580s.

The moral flabbiness born of the bitch-goddess SUCCESS. That -- with the squalid interpretation put on the word success -- is our national disease. [William James to H.G. Wells, Sept. 11, 1906]

Success story is attested from 1925. Among the French phrases used in English late 19c. were succès d'estime "cordial reception given to a literary work out of respect rather than admiration" and succès de scandale "success (especially of a work of art) dependent upon its scandalous character."

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper