adj ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Adjective

1. 1
   Failed, not successful.

   "His unsuccessful attempt earned him sympathy, condolences, and an occasional good-natured ribbing."

Adjective

1. 1
   failing to accomplish an intended result wordnet
2. 2
   not successful; having failed or having an unfavorable outcome wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

abortiveunavailingabortiveattemptedbalkedbeaten

Antonyms

All antonyms

prosperoussuccessful

Example

More examples

"If I don't come back, the venture will probably be unsuccessful."

Etymology

From un- + successful.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.