unsuccessfulun‧suc‧cess‧ful /ˌʌnsəkˈsesfəl◂/ ●●○ adjective 
an unsuccessful attempt to climb Everestunsuccessful in (doing) something We have been unsuccessful in finding a new manager.—unsuccessfully adverb: He tried unsuccessfully to make them change their decision.COLLOCATIONSadverbslargely unsuccessful· The advertising campaign has been largely unsuccessful.singularly unsuccessful (=unsuccessful to a great and noticeable degree)· The education service has been singularly unsuccessful in achieving greater equality.ultimately unsuccessful· In both cases negotiators were ultimately unsuccessful.nounsan unsuccessful attempt/bid/effort· We made several unsuccessful attempts to tackle the problem.an unsuccessful campaign· He quit politics following his unsuccessful presidential campaign.verbsprove unsuccessful· The search for a planet like the Earth has so far proved unsuccessful.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- unsuccessful negotiations
- an unsuccessful artist
- I regret to inform you that your application was unsuccessful.
- The army made an unsuccessful attempt to end the rebellion.
- Their attempts to crush the revolt were unsuccessful.
- An unsuccessful interview sounded like a bad accident.
- Bills promoted both by backbenchers and ministers to reform the law have been unsuccessful.
- He has already made three unsuccessful shots at the presidency.
- Mr Palomar's attempt to isolate the wave is a difficult and repeatedly unsuccessful one.
- The journalist blinked at her for a few seconds before his tanned face collapsed, reminding Blanche of one of her unsuccessful soufflés.
- The Society was substantially unsuccessful in its aim of persuading other charities to adopt the same methods.
Longman Language Activatorwhen a plan or attempt fails
if a plan or attempt fails , it does not achieve what you want it to achieve: · They said the latest space mission was bound to fail.· Try changing the spark plugs, but if that fails take the car to a mechanic.fail to do something: · The investigation failed to establish the cause of the accident.something never fails: · The only way I can make her help me is to pretend I don't want her help. It never fails.
when a plan or attempt fails : failure of: · The failure of the peace talks has led to increased tension on the streets.end/result in failure: · Their first attempt to climb Mount Everest ended in failure.
to fail: · Hoover's attempts to boost the economy did not succeed.· I argued that neither strategy could succeed.not succeed in doing something: · The campaign might not succeed in eliminating the disease, but it would make people think about health and hygiene.
an unsuccessful attempt to do something does not have the result that you wanted: · The army made an unsuccessful attempt to end the rebellion.· I regret to inform you that your application was unsuccessful.
: vain attempt/effort/search a serious attempt, effort etc that is completely unsuccessful: · I remembered all my vain attempts to change his mind.· He stretched up his arms in a vain effort to reach the top of the embankment.
: fruitless attempt/search/effort etc one that fails completely to bring the result that you want: · I spent the next three hours in a fruitless search of her room.· After weeks of fruitless argument they finally agreed to go their separate ways.· Their attempt to settle the dispute by peaceful negotiations proved fruitless.
a meeting, discussion etc that is unproductive produces very few good results: · The meeting was long and noisy, but unproductive.· It was one of those unproductive confrontations between students and senior members of the university.
to be unsuccessful - use this especially about something that fails even though it was very carefully planned: · The government's expensive election campaign had been a failure.be a complete/total failure: · There was a 5-year plan to modernize the economy, but it was a complete failure.
if a planned attempt to do something goes wrong , it fails after it has started well: · The experiment went wrong when the chemicals combined to form a poisonous gas.go badly wrong British (=fail completely): · The rescue attempt went badly wrong when the building collapsed.
if a method or attempt does not work , it fails because it is not suitable or not right for the situation you are in: · I tried to fix it with glue, but that didn't work.not work with: · Teaching methods that work with adults do not always work with children.
if something you do to try to help or deal with a problem does no good , it does not have any useful effect: · Calm down Robyn. Getting hysterical will do no good.· You can try and persuade her to change her mind, but I don't think it'll do any good.do no good whatsoever (=have no useful effect at all): · Judges expect a certain level of competence, so staging a little-girl-lost act in court will do no good whatsoever.
if a plan, arrangement, or deal falls through , something stops it from happening, with the result that people are disappointed: · The deal fell through because they couldn't get enough money from the bank.· It was unbelievable -- it took two years to set the whole thing up and it fell through at the last minute!
if a business or political plan is dead in the water, it has failed completely, almost before it has even started - used especially in newspapers: · Their election campaign now appears to be dead in the water.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRYadverbs
· The advertising campaign has been largely unsuccessful.
(=unsuccessful to a great and noticeable degree)· The education service has been singularly unsuccessful in achieving greater equality.
· In both cases negotiators were ultimately unsuccessful.
nouns· We made several unsuccessful attempts to tackle the problem.
· He quit politics following his unsuccessful presidential campaign.
verbs· The search for a planet like the Earth has so far proved unsuccessful.
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES (=someone who is accepted or not accepted for a job etc) Successful applicants will be expected to travel extensively.
Successful applicants will be expected to travel extensively.· an unsuccessful attempt to overthrow the government
· The armed forces are too weak to mount a successful coup.
· Efforts to save the hospital from closure have been unsuccessful.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADVERB· Abstract painting did have an equivalent in sculpture but it was largely unsuccessful.· In this last crusade he was largely unsuccessful.· However, he was largely unsuccessful in attempts to broaden the basis of his government's political support.
· It was, of course, long before her marriage to Charles Bronson and her ultimately unsuccessful battle against cancer.
NOUN· The Schedule also confers a right of appeal on an unsuccessful applicant or objector to the sheriff.· An unsuccessful applicant could appeal to the regional committee.
· On March 4, however, 30 soldiers made an unsuccessful attempt to overthrow the government.· Jack Lemmon, his longtime amateur partner, will be absent after 23 consecutive unsuccessful attempts to make the pro-am cut.· Dark, scorched areas suggested that an unsuccessful attempt had been made to set fire to it.· Candles flickered, incense burned in an unsuccessful attempt to cover the pungent smell of marijuana.· Regrettably the customer's daughter died following unsuccessful attempts to find a suitable donor for a heart-lung transplant.· Last week they went to the Court of Session in an unsuccessful attempt to have Thursday's meeting blocked.· At an earlier hearing the court heard that the police had made unsuccessful attempts to serve the complaint.· No doubt the dead man had returned in an unsuccessful attempt to save his friend from a similar fate.
· The move follows an unsuccessful bid by Mr Foster to get the board to reinstate the facility Teesdale farmers regard as essential.· Hilton and Boomtown previously made an unsuccessful bid for a license in Lawrenceburg, Ind.· They danced, and he made an unsuccessful bid on a weekend at Hilton Head.
· It will be much easier to reactivate the application of an unsuccessful candidate who has been let down gently.· Babbitt, 54, a former Governor of Arizona, was an unsuccessful candidate for the 1988 Democratic presidential nomination.· In 1721 he was an unsuccessful candidate for the chair of astronomy at Oxford.· Chief executive Tom Hughes said the reason for the delay was to inform the unsuccessful candidates before a public announcement was made.
· Their unsuccessful efforts included a move to block the Environmental Protection Agency from enforcing provisions of environmental laws now on the books.· After several unsuccessful efforts, they would become discouraged and often would begin to spit up.
WORD FAMILYnounsuccesssuccessionsuccessoradjectivesuccessful ≠ unsuccessfulsuccessiveverbsucceedadverbsuccessfully ≠ unsuccessfully
not having a successful result or not achieving what you wanted to achieve: an unsuccessful attempt to climb Everestunsuccessful in (doing) something We have been unsuccessful in finding a new manager.—unsuccessfully adverb: He tried unsuccessfully to make them change their decision.COLLOCATIONSadverbslargely unsuccessful· The advertising campaign has been largely unsuccessful.singularly unsuccessful (=unsuccessful to a great and noticeable degree)· The education service has been singularly unsuccessful in achieving greater equality.ultimately unsuccessful· In both cases negotiators were ultimately unsuccessful.nounsan unsuccessful attempt/bid/effort· We made several unsuccessful attempts to tackle the problem.an unsuccessful campaign· He quit politics following his unsuccessful presidential campaign.verbsprove unsuccessful· The search for a planet like the Earth has so far proved unsuccessful.