unsuccessful
adjective /ˌʌnsəkˈsesfl/
/ˌʌnsəkˈsesfl/
- not successful; not achieving what you wanted to
- His efforts to get a job proved unsuccessful.
- They were unsuccessful in meeting their objectives for the year.
- She made several unsuccessful attempts to see him.
Extra ExamplesTopics Difficulty and failureb1- Unsuccessful applicants will be informed by post.
- He had been an unsuccessful amateur jockey when he was young.
- The secret service had been remarkably unsuccessful at catching spies.
- We have been unsuccessful in finding a replacement for her.
Oxford Collocations DictionaryUnsuccessful is used with these nouns:- applicant
- application
- attempt
- …