What does successful mean?
Definitions for successful
səkˈsɛs fəlsuc·cess·ful
This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word successful.
Princeton's WordNet
successfuladjective
having succeeded or being marked by a favorable outcome
"a successful architect"; "a successful business venture"
Wiktionary
successfuladjective
Resulting in success; assuring, or promotive of, success; accomplishing what was proposed; having the desired effect; prosperous; fortunate; happy
Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
Successfuladjective
Prosperous; happy; fortunate.
Etymology: success and full.
They were terrible alarms to persons grown wealthy by a long and successful imposture, by persuading the world that men might be honest and happy, though they never mortified any corrupt appetites. Robert South, Sermons.
H’ observ’d the illustrious throng,
Their names, their fates, their conduct and their care
In peaceful senates and successful war. Dryden.The early hunter
Blesses Diana’s hand, who leads him safe
O’er hanging cliffs; who spreads his net successful,
And guides the arrow through the panther’s heart. Matthew Prior.
Wikipedia
successful
Success is the state or condition of meeting a defined range of expectations. It may be viewed as the opposite of failure. The criteria for success depend on context, and may be relative to a particular observer or belief system. One person might consider a success what another person considers a failure, particularly in cases of direct competition or a zero-sum game. Similarly, the degree of success or failure in a situation may be differently viewed by distinct observers or participants, such that a situation that one considers to be a success, another might consider to be a failure, a qualified success or a neutral situation. For example, a film that is a commercial failure or even a box-office bomb can go on to receive a cult following, with the initial lack of commercial success even lending a cachet of subcultural coolness.It may also be difficult or impossible to ascertain whether a situation meets criteria for success or failure due to ambiguous or ill-defined definition of those criteria. Finding useful and effective criteria, or heuristics, to judge the failure or success of a situation may itself be a significant task.
ChatGPT
successful
Successful usually refers to the accomplishment of a goal, aim, or purpose. It could also mean achieving wealth, respect, or fame. Being successful often implies the attainment of desired outcomes or the triumph over challenges or difficulties. It can be subjective and may depend on individual perceptions or societal standards.
Webster Dictionary
Successfuladjective
resulting in success; assuring, or promotive of, success; accomplishing what was proposed; having the desired effect; hence, prosperous; fortunate; happy; as, a successful use of medicine; a successful experiment; a successful enterprise
British National Corpus
Spoken Corpus Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'successful' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #903
Written Corpus Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'successful' in Written Corpus Frequency: #1517
Adjectives Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'successful' in Adjectives Frequency: #107
Usage in printed sourcesFrom:
- [["1507","1"],["1515","14"],["1524","8"],["1525","1"],["1563","12"],["1564","7"],["1572","11"],["1574","1"],["1575","31"],["1581","14"],["1582","16"],["1584","6"],["1587","6"],["1589","1"],["1590","8"],["1594","1"],["1600","12"],["1607","16"],["1620","4"],["1624","3"],["1626","1"],["1628","3"],["1632","3"],["1634","3"],["1635","12"],["1636","2"],["1637","30"],["1643","2"],["1644","4"],["1645","12"],["1647","5"],["1648","45"],["1649","6"],["1650","1"],["1651","1"],["1653","1"],["1654","2"],["1656","4"],["1657","11"],["1658","6"],["1659","3"],["1661","5"],["1662","6"],["1664","8"],["1665","8"],["1666","1"],["1667","3"],["1668","2"],["1669","9"],["1670","16"],["1671","1"],["1672","2"],["1673","10"],["1674","2"],["1675","24"],["1676","22"],["1677","11"],["1678","11"],["1679","15"],["1680","12"],["1681","30"],["1682","94"],["1683","33"],["1684","23"],["1685","22"],["1686","20"],["1687","4"],["1688","22"],["1689","13"],["1690","3"],["1691","9"],["1692","12"],["1693","17"],["1694","7"],["1695","14"],["1696","4"],["1697","3"],["1698","39"],["1699","32"],["1700","31"],["1701","32"],["1702","90"],["1703","42"],["1704","73"],["1705","55"],["1706","121"],["1707","99"],["1708","83"],["1709","34"],["1710","67"],["1711","135"],["1712","38"],["1713","84"],["1714","91"],["1715","116"],["1716","67"],["1717","89"],["1718","52"],["1719","58"],["1720","88"],["1721","75"],["1722","73"],["1723","64"],["1724","103"],["1725","112"],["1726","108"],["1727","162"],["1728","185"],["1729","270"],["1730","128"],["1731","242"],["1732","113"],["1733","94"],["1734","181"],["1735","96"],["1736","103"],["1737","122"],["1738","209"],["1739","157"],["1740","188"],["1741","143"],["1742","176"],["1743","147"],["1744","185"],["1745","90"],["1746","131"],["1747","275"],["1748","224"],["1749","150"],["1750","423"],["1751","239"],["1752","227"],["1753","334"],["1754","377"],["1755","358"],["1756","114"],["1757","198"],["1758","353"],["1759","586"],["1760","288"],["1761","497"],["1762","243"],["1763","314"],["1764","565"],["1765","292"],["1766","427"],["1767","337"],["1768","606"],["1769","381"],["1770","527"],["1771","446"],["1772","397"],["1773","567"],["1774","545"],["1775","589"],["1776","631"],["1777","676"],["1778","672"],["1779","708"],["1780","666"],["1781","791"],["1782","551"],["1783","690"],["1784","740"],["1785","788"],["1786","980"],["1787","1500"],["1788","1595"],["1789","1817"],["1790","1458"],["1791","1144"],["1792","1365"],["1793","1457"],["1794","1225"],["1795","1302"],["1796","1796"],["1797","1212"],["1798","1571"],["1799","1788"],["1800","2339"],["1801","3811"],["1802","3535"],["1803","3995"],["1804","5199"],["1805","5172"],["1806","4662"],["1807","4653"],["1808","4713"],["1809","4541"],["1810","5217"],["1811","6119"],["1812","5385"],["1813","5360"],["1814","6341"],["1815","5806"],["1816","5995"],["1817","7652"],["1818","8203"],["1819","6625"],["1820","9810"],["1821","6909"],["1822","10060"],["1823","10112"],["1824","11172"],["1825","12755"],["1826","10047"],["1827","12714"],["1828","12515"],["1829","12309"],["1830","13730"],["1831","13618"],["1832","14804"],["1833","13486"],["1834","13534"],["1835","17123"],["1836","17839"],["1837","15761"],["1838","16984"],["1839","18403"],["1840","20489"],["1841","18066"],["1842","14758"],["1843","17932"],["1844","18665"],["1845","21126"],["1846","22117"],["1847","21495"],["1848","22816"],["1849","23248"],["1850","24486"],["1851","25070"],["1852","29818"],["1853","32656"],["1854","34605"],["1855","31830"],["1856","36503"],["1857","32149"],["1858","29150"],["1859","32234"],["1860","34251"],["1861","24778"],["1862","22334"],["1863","20712"],["1864","27461"],["1865","27941"],["1866","31062"],["1867","30164"],["1868","31231"],["1869","28720"],["1870","28797"],["1871","28066"],["1872","28935"],["1873","31119"],["1874","35032"],["1875","33592"],["1876","35228"],["1877","35275"],["1878","35086"],["1879","37075"],["1880","43904"],["1881","45025"],["1882","48629"],["1883","50778"],["1884","50784"],["1885","49131"],["1886","43344"],["1887","46260"],["1888","47594"],["1889","45597"],["1890","46461"],["1891","48748"],["1892","52869"],["1893","54940"],["1894","53259"],["1895","54115"],["1896","63245"],["1897","60644"],["1898","64856"],["1899","69985"],["1900","79357"],["1901","73344"],["1902","79463"],["1903","76991"],["1904","82029"],["1905","84256"],["1906","82024"],["1907","84361"],["1908","88321"],["1909","81501"],["1910","87578"],["1911","87197"],["1912","102662"],["1913","96655"],["1914","94416"],["1915","91894"],["1916","84284"],["1917","83726"],["1918","76432"],["1919","89350"],["1920","101234"],["1921","89435"],["1922","104663"],["1923","81259"],["1924","73686"],["1925","76644"],["1926","73598"],["1927","85278"],["1928","83734"],["1929","81231"],["1930","84496"],["1931","83486"],["1932","74084"],["1933","61634"],["1934","72855"],["1935","78357"],["1936","83001"],["1937","84160"],["1938","88907"],["1939","88528"],["1940","85255"],["1941","79261"],["1942","73807"],["1943","61817"],["1944","57583"],["1945","64120"],["1946","83786"],["1947","100059"],["1948","104492"],["1949","116880"],["1950","113384"],["1951","110874"],["1952","110903"],["1953","110266"],["1954","118952"],["1955","122935"],["1956","123708"],["1957","135879"],["1958","136896"],["1959","139976"],["1960","162824"],["1961","174253"],["1962","192562"],["1963","200252"],["1964","202061"],["1965","231409"],["1966","246278"],["1967","259420"],["1968","280838"],["1969","283730"],["1970","297704"],["1971","302655"],["1972","308731"],["1973","302642"],["1974","299289"],["1975","301692"],["1976","317733"],["1977","325207"],["1978","322819"],["1979","339733"],["1980","347521"],["1981","348320"],["1982","369320"],["1983","373544"],["1984","406547"],["1985","423919"],["1986","443074"],["1987","446194"],["1988","472707"],["1989","502679"],["1990","545868"],["1991","518971"],["1992","574993"],["1993","571505"],["1994","625924"],["1995","633639"],["1996","674684"],["1997","691160"],["1998","725233"],["1999","765781"],["2000","864582"],["2001","885221"],["2002","958849"],["2003","1030575"],["2004","1098585"],["2005","1103883"],["2006","1157568"],["2007","1203404"],["2008","1328002"]]
Numerology
Chaldean Numerology
The numerical value of successful in Chaldean Numerology is: 7
Pythagorean Numerology
The numerical value of successful in Pythagorean Numerology is: 2
Examples of successful in a Sentence
Think about hiking, when you're setting out on an adventure, you need your backpack, supplies and equipment, but you also need a compass to tell you where you're heading. Without one or the other it is not likely to be a very successful trip.
The states decision to exclude certain agencies and certain very successful agencies like St. Vincent simply because of their religious beliefs causes unnecessary harm to the countless kids theyre serving now and could be serving in the future merely because the attorney general doesnt like what St. Vincent believes and has believed for over 75 years.
Bill Clinton spokesman Angel Urena:
The trip led to the successful release of two American journalists who were being held in North Korea, this request turned out to be unnecessary and the trip was able to occur without diplomatic passports.
The take-home message for women if they’re thinking about breastfeeding is do Ruth Newby homework, at this point, the burden is still really on the woman for breastfeeding to be successful. She needs to build a breastfeeding support system while still pregnant, identify people from her family and friend circle who are supportive, and learn as much as she can about breastfeeding.
We're hearing from our health departments actively working with their school districts to support school vaccination efforts, including working with school nurses in the community to make sure they have needed resources and assistance to host a successful vaccine clinic -- and that is certainly happening universally across the country in different jurisdictions, as we head into the start of classes this month, we're seeing more and more schools talking about incorporating vaccine clinics into their programs, where possible.
Popularity rank by frequency of use
References
Translations for successful
From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary
- فائز, ناجح, موفقArabic
- паспяхо́выBelarusian
- успе́шенBulgarian
- সফলBengali
- exitósCatalan, Valencian
- úspěšnýCzech
- erfolgreichGerman
- sukcesaEsperanto
- triunfador, exitoso, conseguidoSpanish
- edukasEstonian
- arrakastatsuBasque
- کامگار, موفق شدن, موفقPersian
- onnistunut, menestyvä, menestynytFinnish
- couronné de succès, ayant du [[succès]], marqué de [[succès]]French
- rathúilIrish
- מוצלחHebrew
- सफलHindi
- eredményes, sikeresHungarian
- հաջողArmenian
- riuscito, coronato dal successo, ben riuscito, andato a buon fine, di successoItalian
- 成功Japanese
- 성공한Korean
- у́спешенMacedonian
- gelukt, succesvol, geslaagdDutch
- vellukkaNorwegian Nynorsk
- vellykketNorwegian
- udanyPolish
- bem sucedido, bem-sucedido, conseguidoPortuguese
- уда́чный, благополу́чный, успе́шныйRussian
- सफलSanskrit
- успешан, uspešan, uspješan, успјешанSerbo-Croatian
- úspešnýSlovak
- uspešenSlovene
- lyckad, framgångsrikSwedish
- வெற்றிகரமானTamil
- muvaffaklar, muvaffakTurkish
- вда́тний, успі́шнийUkrainian
- سپھلUrdu
- thành côngVietnamese
Get even more translations for successful »
Translation
Find a translation for the successful definition in other languages:
Select another language:
- - Select -
- 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
- 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
- Español (Spanish)
- Esperanto (Esperanto)
- 日本語 (Japanese)
- Português (Portuguese)
- Deutsch (German)
- العربية (Arabic)
- Français (French)
- Русский (Russian)
- ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
- 한국어 (Korean)
- עברית (Hebrew)
- Gaeilge (Irish)
- Українська (Ukrainian)
- اردو (Urdu)
- Magyar (Hungarian)
- मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
- Indonesia (Indonesian)
- Italiano (Italian)
- தமிழ் (Tamil)
- Türkçe (Turkish)
- తెలుగు (Telugu)
- ภาษาไทย (Thai)
- Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
- Čeština (Czech)
- Polski (Polish)
- Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
- Românește (Romanian)
- Nederlands (Dutch)
- Ελληνικά (Greek)
- Latinum (Latin)
- Svenska (Swedish)
- Dansk (Danish)
- Suomi (Finnish)
- فارسی (Persian)
- ייִדיש (Yiddish)
- հայերեն (Armenian)
- Norsk (Norwegian)
- English (English)
Word of the Day
Would you like us to send you a FREE new word definition delivered to your inbox daily?
Citation
Use the citation below to add this definition to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"successful." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2025. Web. 23 Feb. 2025. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/successful>.
Discuss these successful definitions with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In