unsuccessfully
adverb
Simple meaning
Not successfully; without success.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
uhnsuhksehsfuhleeSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ənsəkˈsɛsfəli
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.
adverb
Not successfully; without success; to no avail.
“She tried unsuccessfully to persuade him to buy a new car.”
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C2 · Proficient (estimated)
- Frequency
- Uncommon
- Typical Use
- Primarily written
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
This meaning: Not successfully; without success; to no avail.
Used this way, unsuccessfully is a common word with a faintly unfavourable edge. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
“She tried unsuccessfully to persuade him to buy a new car.”
- Emotional tone
- Slightly negative
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Moderate
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- Critical or judgemental
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Usage note
It most often appears in the pattern “unsuccessfully to …”, which is worth copying when you use it.
Natural pattern: unsuccessfully to …
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use unsuccessfully
- “She tried unsuccessfully to persuade him to buy a new car.”adverb
Share your sentence
Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Inflected forms
Grammatical variations of the same word.
Not successful.
Use This Word
See how this word sounds in a real sentence.
Ask Vocabaura
Understand the word your way.
What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
Use it yourself
Knowing “unsuccessfully” starts when you use it. Pick a next step, all free.
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.