successful

adjective

suc·​cess·​ful sək-ˈses-fəl 

1

: resulting or terminating in success

a successful attempt

2

: gaining or having gained success

a successful investor

successfully

sək-ˈses-fə-lē 

adverb

successfulness noun

Synonyms of successful

• prosperous
• thriving

Examples of successful in a Sentence

the play had a successful run on Broadway

sold their successful dry-cleaning business and retired to Hawaii

Recent Examples on the Web

The battle between heroes and villains is back in a fifth installment of Disney‘s wildly successful Descendants franchise. — Kimberly Nordyke, HollywoodReporter, 14 July 2026

Snowden was signed by the Cowboys after a successful tryout with the team during mandatory minicamp last month. — Nick Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 July 2026

The true marker of successful mattress selection is considering all the sleep preferences (including those of the person sharing the mattress with you). — Yelena Moroz Alpert, Architectural Digest, 14 July 2026

Garrett Wareing and Amanda Fix will star as young Ed and Lorraine, taking over for Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga, who have portrayed adult versions of the characters across several commercially successful films. — Rebecca Rubin, Variety, 14 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1594, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Rhymes for successful

• distressful
• stressful
• unsuccessful

Kids Definition

successful

adjective

suc·​cess·​ful sək-ˈses-fəl 

1

: resulting or ending in success

2

: gaining or having gained success

successfully

-fə-lē 

adverb

successfulness noun