unsuccessful
adjective
un·suc·cess·ful
ˌən-sək-ˈses-fəl 
: not successful : not meeting with or producing success
Examples of unsuccessful in a Sentence
His last novel was unsuccessful.
an unsuccessful attempt to fix the faucet ourselves
Recent Examples on the Web
But the Supreme Court denied the court order and requests to President Donald Trump from family, supporters and her attorney were unsuccessful.
—
Nicole Acosta, People.com, 19 Apr. 2025
Meanwhile, Min and Chris’ closest friends, Kelly Marie Tran’s Angela, a research scientist, and Lily Gladstone’s Lee, an Indigenous community organizer, have been struggling to conceive a child; Lee has just found out that her second round of IVF has been unsuccessful.
—Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 18 Apr. 2025
The officer attempted to put out the flames with his fire extinguisher but was unsuccessful.
—Pj Green, Kansas City Star, 18 Apr. 2025
In 1945, an attempt was made to identify the unknown remains, but the effort was unsuccessful, the DPAA said.
—Kerry Breen, CBS News, 18 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for unsuccessful
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Nicole Acosta, People.com, 19 Apr. 2025
Meanwhile, Min and Chris’ closest friends, Kelly Marie Tran’s Angela, a research scientist, and Lily Gladstone’s Lee, an Indigenous community organizer, have been struggling to conceive a child; Lee has just found out that her second round of IVF has been unsuccessful.
—Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 18 Apr. 2025
The officer attempted to put out the flames with his fire extinguisher but was unsuccessful.
—Pj Green, Kansas City Star, 18 Apr. 2025
In 1945, an attempt was made to identify the unknown remains, but the effort was unsuccessful, the DPAA said.
—Kerry Breen, CBS News, 18 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for unsuccessful
Cite this Entry
“Unsuccessful.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unsuccessful. Accessed 23 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
unsuccessful
adjective
un·suc·cess·ful
ˌən(t)-sək-ˈses-fəl
: not successful : not having or producing success
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share