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-successfuladjective
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half-successfullyadverb
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half-successfulnessnoun
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nonsuccessfuladjective
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nonsuccessfullyadverb
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presuccessfuladjective
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presuccessfullyadverb
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quasi-successfuladjective
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quasi-successfullyadverb
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semisuccessfuladjective
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semisuccessfullyadverb
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successfullyadverb
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successfulnessnoun
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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"A Raisin in the Sun," "My Father is a Simple Man," and "My Mother Pieced Quilts"
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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.
He’ll start on Saturday at second or third base in a game matching two of the most successful programs in City baseball history.
From Los Angeles Times • May 22, 2026
KKR in March announced the sale of its data-center cooling business CoolIT to Ecolab for $4.75 billion, which is now poised to be one of the private-equity giant’s most successful bets ever.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 21, 2026
Just as interest-specific sites are more likely to be successful according to Penque, so are age-related ones.
From BBC • May 21, 2026
Colbert’s version is gentler but also the most successful.
From Salon • May 21, 2026
She flew around me to avoid getting hurt, but she wasn’t completely successful.
From "Summer of the Mariposas" by Guadalupe García McCall
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.
