adjective
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having succeeded in one's endeavours
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marked by a favourable outcome
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having obtained fame, wealth, etc
Usage
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.
Other Word Forms
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half-successfulnessnoun
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successfulnessnoun
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half-successfuladjective
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nonsuccessfuladjective
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presuccessfuladjective
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quasi-successfuladjective
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semisuccessfuladjective
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half-successfullyadverb
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nonsuccessfullyadverb
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presuccessfullyadverb
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quasi-successfullyadverb
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semisuccessfullyadverb
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successfullyadverb
Etymology
Origin of successful
Explanation
If you win or do well, at whatever it is you do, you are successful. Successful people usually get more money, attention, and praise. If you go into business and make a lot of money, you're successful. If you play tennis and finish the season with more wins than losses, you've been successful. If you have a successful pregnancy, you give birth to a healthy baby. Successful is one of those words that covers a great deal of ground; it generally applies to anything, anyone or any venture that ends well. When you see the word successful, think "Winning!"
Vocabulary lists containing successful
Power Suffix: -ful
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Talk Like Shakespeare Day, List 5
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-ful
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In his successful campaign to retain power at this year's Holyrood election, the Scottish National Party leader repeated his "determination to eradicate child poverty."
From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026
If successful, it would mark a step toward a fully reusable rocket system, which would drastically lower launch costs and speed up the deployment of next-generation infrastructure.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 5, 2026
It is one of around 40 similar suits brought by cities, states, tribes and other local jurisdictions, modeled on successful litigation against tobacco and opioid producers.
From Barron's ● Oct. 5, 2026
In some cases, successful individual traders are hiring small teams to support operations, wagering millions of dollars a week on platforms such as Polymarket.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 3, 2026
During the next week the Turtle made several more attempts to sink British ships, but none were successful.
From "Shipwrecked!" by Martin W. Sandler
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
