succeed
verb
Simple meaning
To prevail in obtaining an intended objective or accomplishment.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
suhkseedSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
səkˈsid
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
verb
intransitive
To prevail in obtaining an intended objective or accomplishment; to prosper as a result or conclusion of a particular effort.
intransitive
To come after or follow; to be subsequent or consequent; (often with to).
intransitive
To come in the place of another person, thing, or event; to come next in the usual, natural, or prescribed course of things; to follow; hence, to come next in the possession of anything; (often with to).
transitive
To replace or supplant someone in order vis-à-vis an office, position, or title.
intransitive
To ascend the throne after the removal or death of the occupant.
transitive
To follow something in sequence or time.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B1 · Intermediate (estimated)
- Frequency
- Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: To prevail in obtaining an intended objective or accomplishment; to prosper as a result or conclusion of a particular effort.
Used this way, succeed is a reasonably familiar word with a clearly warm, approving pull. It quietly approves while staying precise.
- Emotional tone
- Positive
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Gentle
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Successful and accomplished
- Usage feel
- Precise and approving
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use succeed
- “The enterprise succeeded.”verb
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Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Inflected forms
Grammatical variations of the same word.
Coming after or following.
Related words
Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.
Having succeeded or being marked by a favorable outcome.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.