successfuladjective
uk/səkˈses.fəl/us/səkˈses.fəl/B1 achieving the results wanted or hoped for:
a successful operation
 My second attempt at making bread was a little more successful.
 This year's harvest was one of the most successful since the record crop of 1985.
 Opposite
unsuccessful
B2 having achieved a lot, become popular, and/or made a lot of money:
a successful career
 She runs a very successful computer business.
 He's the author of several hugely successful children's books (= books which have been bought by a lot of people).
 The Birmingham Royal Ballet has had a highly successful season.
 Opposite
unsuccessful
More examples
- You have to be tough to be successful in politics.
 - During a successful business career, she accumulated a great amount of wealth.
 - Well, who'd have thought Joey was going to become so successful?
 - He was a successful businessman before becoming a writer.
 - Our soldiers carried out a successful attack last night.
 
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Successful (things or people)
- a heavy hitter idiom
 - achiever
 - alive
 - alpha male
 - ascendant
 - chart
 - fly
 - have sth in your pocket idiom
 - have the world at your feet idiom
 - healthy
 - high-flyer
 - high-flying
 - lion
 - ride
 - roll
 - to have arrived idiom
 - top-rated
 - tried
 - triumphant
 - up and down idiom
 
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successfully  
adverb uk/səkˈses.fəl.i/us/səkˈses.fəl.i/
Examples
- She manages to successfully combine family life with a career.
 - Experts successfully managed to disarm the bomb.
 - What the book does convey very successfully is the horror of war.
 - Fighter planes have successfully bombed the enemy's main armoury.
 - Throughout her career she has very successfully manipulated the media.
 
B2
A number of patients have been successfully treated with the new drug.