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Definition of successful adjective from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

successful

adjective
 OPAL W
 
/səkˈsesfl/
 
/səkˈsesfl/
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  1.  
     achieving your aims or what was intended
    • The experiment was entirely successful.
    • We congratulated them on the successful completion of the project.
    • successful in something He's always been highly successful in his work.
    • successful in something They were successful in winning the contract.
    • successful at something No one can be successful at everything.
    • successful at doing something I wasn't very successful at keeping the news secret.
    Extra Examples
    • The alliance was ultimately successful in getting its message across.
    • The operation was only partially successful.
    • Their attempts had not been entirely successful.
    • We hope the party will be successful in the elections.
    • Winning is the only way they can feel successful.
    • She had a phenomenally successful period as manager.
    • He had been successful at every job he had done.
    • The company has been successful in controlling costs.
    • I received a letter saying that my application had been successful.
    • The police became more successful at clearing up crime.
    • The successful candidate will be responsible for a large research project.
    • This is one of the most successful advertising campaigns in recent history.
    • Further tests proved successful.
    Topics Successa2
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs
    • be
    • prove
    • appear
    • …
    adverb
    • extremely
    • fairly
    • very
    • …
    preposition
    • at
    • in
    See full entry
  2.  
     having become popular and/or made a lot of money
    • The play was very successful on Broadway.
    • a successful actor/businessman
    • She has had a long and successful career in television.
    • The company has had another successful year.
    opposite unsuccessful
    Extra Examples
    • What makes a new product successful?
    • She has appeared in some of the most popular and successful films of the last couple of decades.
    • Successful businesses are built by strong teams.
    • The show was wildly successful.
    Synonyms successfulsuccessfulprofitable ▪ commercial ▪ lucrative ▪ economicThese words all describe somebody/​something that is making or is likely to make money.successful making a lot of money, especially by being popular:
    • The play was very successful on Broadway.
    • The company has had another successful year.
    profitable making a profit:
    • a highly profitable business
    commercial [only before noun] making or intended to make a profit:
    • The movie was not a commercial success (= made no profit).
    lucrative (of business or work) producing or paying a large amount of money; making a large profit:
    • They do a lot of business in lucrative overseas markets.
    economic (often used in negative sentences) (of a process, business or activity) producing enough profit to continue:
    • Small local shops stop being economic when a supermarket opens up nearby.
    Patterns
    • a successful/​profitable/​lucrative business
    • a successful/​profitable/​lucrative year
    • a(n) commercial/​economic success
    Topics Successa2
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs
    • be
    • prove
    • appear
    • …
    adverb
    • extremely
    • fairly
    • very
    • …
    preposition
    • at
    • in
    See full entry
See successful in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee successful in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English
Check pronunciation: successful

Nearby words

trait
noun
 
 
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