What does unsuccessful mean?
Word: Unsuccessful
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Unsuccessful means not achieving what you wanted or tried to do.
How do you spell unsuccessful?
Syllables: un - suc - cess - ful
Tricky part: The ending sounds like the word full, but as an ending it keeps only one l. Unsuccessfull is a very common mistake.
Watch out for: unsuccessfull, unsucessful
Memory tip: Full loses an l when it becomes an ending, as in careful and hopeful.
Unsuccessful in a sentence
Example 1: Our first attempt to grow tomatoes on the balcony was unsuccessful.
Example 2: Rohan made two unsuccessful tries at the high jump before he cleared the bar.
Example 3: The search for the lost kitten was unsuccessful until Nani heard it mewing.
Fun Fact
Inventor James Dyson says he built 5,127 versions of his bagless vacuum cleaner, and every one before the last was unsuccessful.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Cookie
Insert the correct pair of letters to form a word:
uns_cc_ssful
a) a, e
b) u, i
c) u, e
d) o, e
Show answer
c) u, e. The first vowel is the u of cup, and the second is the e of bell.
Word Makeup
Choose the prefix that completes the word:
____successful
a) dis
b) un
c) im
d) in
Show answer
b) un. Successful, like happy and kind, takes un for its opposite.
Word Connection
Choose the antonym of the word:
unsuccessful
a) beaten
b) failed
c) victorious
d) fruitless
Show answer
c) victorious. A victorious team won; failed, fruitless and beaten all point the same way as the word.
Spell-o-Spell
Choose the incorrectly spelt word:
a) accommodate
b) occasion
c) necessary
d) unsuccesful
Show answer
d) unsuccesful. The middle of this word is success, with a double s as well as a double c.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Priya's experiment was unsuccessful. What most likely happened?
a) everyone copied her method
b) the result was not what she hoped
c) she won a prize for it at once
d) it finished earlier than planned
Show answer
b) the result was not what she hoped
2. Which of these is the best thing to do after an unsuccessful try?
a) throw away all of your notes
b) blame the weather for everything
c) never try anything new again
d) find out what went wrong and try again
Show answer
d) find out what went wrong and try again
