successful

suc‧cess‧ful S2 W1 /səkˈsesfəl/ BrE AmE adjective
[Word Family: noun: ↑success, ↑succession, ↑successor; adjective: ↑successful ≠ ↑unsuccessful, ↑successive; verb: ↑succeed; adverb: ↑successfully ≠ ↑unsuccessfully]
1. achieving what you wanted, or having the effect or result you intended:
The operation was successful.
a highly successful (=very successful) meeting
successful in (doing) something
Were you successful in persuading him to change his mind?
2. a successful business, film, product etc makes a lot of money:
The show’s had a pretty successful run.
a highly successful (=very successful) product
3. a successful person earns a lot of money or is very well known and respected:
Arthur was a highly successful (=very successful) businessman.
successful in
He later became successful in politics.
successful as
I think she’ll be successful as a photographer.
—successfully adverb:
He successfully completed a master’s degree.
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ successful achieving what you wanted, or having the effect or result you intended: He applied for a visa three times and in the end he was successful. | The treatment was successful. | It was a highly successful campaign.
▪ effective having the effect or result that was wanted - used especially about treatments, drugs, or methods: The drug is effective against a range of diseases. | We still haven't found an effective way to solve the problem.
▪ victorious successful as a result of winning in a game, election, war etc: the captain of the victorious team | She emerged victorious in the second round of voting.
▪ promising likely to be very successful in the future, used especially about someone who is good at a job, sport, art etc: a promising young athlete | He gave up a promising career in banking.
▪ thriving very successful – used about a company, industry, or organization that is doing well at a particular time: The area has a thriving tourist industry. | The school is thriving academically.
▪ booming extremely successful – used about an economy, or when business or trade is increasing: the booming economy in China | Business is booming.

success

suc‧cess S1 W1 /səkˈses/ BrE AmE noun [uncountable and countable]
[Word Family: noun: ↑success, ↑succession, ↑successor; adjective: ↑successful ≠ ↑unsuccessful, ↑successive; verb: ↑succeed; adverb: ↑successfully ≠ ↑unsuccessfully]
[Date: 1500-1600; Language: Latin; Origin: past participle of succedere; ⇨ ↑succeed]
1. when you achieve what you want or intend OPP failure:
The experiment was a big success.
without success
I tried to contact him, but without success.
success in doing something
Did you have any success in persuading Alan to come?
2. when a lot of people like something, buy something, go to see something etc OPP failure
be a big/huge/great etc success
The film was a great success.
Her book has enjoyed a lot of success (=it has been very successful).
The play was a box-office success (=many people went to see it).
The show was an overnight success (=it was immediately successful).
3. when someone achieves a high position in their job, on a course, in a sport, in society etc OPP failure:
Success isn’t everything, you know.
success in
He has already had a lot of success in his career.
be a success as a ... (=be successful in a particular job)
She wasn’t much of a success as a lawyer.
She’s determined to make a success of (=be successful in) her career.
4. when a business makes a lot of money OPP failure:
the success of his latest business venture
be a big/huge/great etc success
The firm wasn’t a great success.
5. success story someone or something that is successful:
The company has been a major success story.
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ adjectives
▪ a great success Everyone agreed the picnic was a great success.
▪ a big/huge/major success The government claimed the policy was a major success.
▪ a resounding/outstanding/spectacular success (=very great success) Financially, the event was a resounding success.
▪ great/considerable success This plant can be grown by the absolute beginner with great success.
▪ some success The group is already achieving some success.
▪ little/no success Attempts to resolve the dispute met with little success.
▪ limited success (=not very much success) The attempt to replace coca with other crops has had only limited success.
▪ commercial/economic/financial success None of his ideas had any commercial success.
▪ academic success (=success in education) There is no evidence that early teaching of reading leads to academic success.
▪ electoral success (=success in elections) The electoral success of the far right understandably fills many people in Europe with alarm.
▪ military success This military success was achieved at a cost.
■ verbs
▪ have/achieve success China has had considerable success in conserving water since 1983.
▪ meet with success (=be successful) We are disappointed that this round of negotiations has not met with success.
▪ put your success down to something (=say that your success was the result of it) They put their success down to their excellent teamwork.
■ phrases
▪ somebody's chance of success They have a good chance of success.
▪ the secret of somebody's success (=what makes them successful) A visitor asked Connie the secret of her success with growing roses.
▪ the success rate (=what percentage of actions are successful) The success rate in cloning is still extremely low.
■ COMMON ERRORS
► Do not say 'make success' or 'make a success'. Say have success or achieve success.

Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

successful

suc·cess·ful [successful successfully] [səkˈsesfl] [səkˈsesfl] adjective
1. achieving your aims or what was intended
• ~ (in sth/in doing sth) They were successful in winning the contract.
• ~ (at sth/at doing sth) I wasn't very successful at keeping the news secret.

• We congratulated them on the successful completion of the project.

2. having become popular and/or made a lot of money
• The play was very successful on Broadway.
• a successful actor
• The company has had another successful year.
Opp: unsuccessful
Derived Word: successfully
Synonyms:
successful
profitable • commercial • lucrative • economic
These words all describe sb/sth 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.
a successful/profitable/lucrative business
a successful/profitable/lucrative year
a(n) commercial/economic success
Example Bank:
• 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.
• a politically successful manoeuvre
• his phenomenally successful period as manager
• hoping their party would be successful in the elections
• He had a phenomenally successful period as manager.
• He had been successful at every job he had done.
• She has had a long and successful career in television.
• The company has been successful in controlling costs.
• The experiment was entirely successful.
• The police became more successful at clearing up crime.

• The successful candidate will be responsible for a large research project.

Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary

Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary - 4th Edition

successful / səkˈses.f ə l / adjective

B1 achieving the results wanted or hoped for:

a successful operation

My second attempt at making flaky pastry was a bit more successful.

This year's harvest was one of the most successful since the record crop of 1985.

→ Opposite unsuccessful

B2 having achieved a lot, become popular, and/or made a lot of money:

a successful career

She runs a very successful computer business.

He's the author of several hugely successful children's books (= books which have been bought by a lot of people) .

The Birmingham Royal Ballet has had a highly successful season.

→ Opposite unsuccessful

successfully / -i / adverb

B2

A number of patients have been successfully treated with the new drug.

Collins Advanced Learner’s English Dictionary

successful

[səkse̱sfʊl]
♦♦
1) ADJ-GRADED: oft ADJ in -ing Something that is successful achieves what it was intended to achieve. Someone who is successful achieves what they intended to achieve.
  How successful will this new treatment be?...
  I am looking forward to a long and successful partnership with him...
  She has been comparatively successful in maintaining her privacy.
  Ant:
  unsuccessful
  Derived words:
  successfully ADV ADV with v The doctors have successfully concluded preliminary tests.
2) ADJ-GRADED Something that is successful is popular or makes a lot of money.
  ...the hugely successful movie that brought Robert Redford an Oscar for his directing...
  One of the keys to successful business is careful planning.
3) ADJ-GRADED: oft ADJ in n Someone who is successful achieves a high position in what they do, for example in business or politics.
  Women do not necessarily have to imitate men to be successful in business...
  She is a successful lawyer.

Merriam-Webster's Advanced Learner's Dictionary

successful

suc·cess·ful /səkˈsɛsfəl/ adj [more ~; most ~]
1 : having the correct or desired result : ending in success
• a successful attempt
• The treatment was successful.
• a successful movie [=a movie that makes a large profit]
• Our search was successful. [=we found what we were searching for]
2 : having gotten or achieved wealth, respect, or fame
• a successful businesswoman
- suc·cess·ful·ly adv
• We have successfully finished the project.
• The infection was treated successfully.