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unsuccessful

[ uhn-suhk-ses-fuhl ]

/ ˌʌn səkˈsɛs fəl /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR unsuccessful ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

not achieving or not attended with success: an unsuccessful person; an unsuccessful venture.

Origin of unsuccessful

First recorded in 1610–20; un-¹ + successful

SYNONYMS FOR unsuccessful

hapless, unfortunate, foiled, baffled.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR unsuccessful ON THESAURUS.COM

OTHER WORDS FROM unsuccessful

un·suc·cess·ful·ly, adverb un·suc·cess·ful·ness, noun

Words nearby unsuccessful

unsubscribe, unsubstantial, unsubstantiated, unsubtle, unsuccess, unsuccessful, unsuitable, unsuited, unsullied, unsung, unsupervised

Example sentences from the Web for unsuccessfully

Her campaign was a textbook exercise in trying to thread the needle (unsuccessfully).

Despite Their Loss In Florida’s Special Election, Democrats Shouldn’t Panic Over November |Michael Tomasky |March 12, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Mark Warner is a former Governor of Virginia who also unsuccessfully ran for Senate against John Warner in 1996.

Republican Warner Backs Democrat Warner |Ben Jacobs |January 27, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Kanye West says he unsuccessfully pitched the idea of leather sweatpants to Fendi six years ago.

NBA Players Are Wearing Sweatpants Again, but Now They Cost $550 |Sujay Kumar |November 11, 2013 |DAILY BEAST
But if he does, his path will be more like the one John McCain unsuccessfully pursued in 2000 than the one Bush took.

Chris Christie Is No George W. Bush, and 2016 Is Definitely Not 2000 |Peter Beinart |November 7, 2013 |DAILY BEAST

He also unsuccessfully attempted to have the case transferred to the federal court system.

State Department Murder Suspect Chris Deedy Was a Benghazi Security Agent |Josh Rogin |July 18, 2013 |DAILY BEAST
After unsuccessfully trying various expedients for entering the house, they deemed themselves authorised to break the door.

Ormond, Volume I (of 3) |Charles Brockden Brown
Since then his whole time had been occupied in promoting the cause against her father, and not unsuccessfully.

The Warden |Anthony Trollope
Berwick was unsuccessfully besieged and the Lothians laid waste.

The History of England |T.F. Tout
She had been trying, unsuccessfully, to reproduce the luminous expression of a saint.

The Gnomes of the Saline Mountains |Anna Goldmark Gross
To-day Kinski, the Governor, has been fired at twice, but unsuccessfully.

The Count's Chauffeur |William Le Queux

British Dictionary definitions for unsuccessfully

unsuccessful

/ (ˌʌnsəkˈsɛsfʊl) /

adjective

not having succeeded

Derived forms of unsuccessful

unsuccessfully, adverb