SUCCESS

AND
FAILURE

Nouns and noun phrases

accomplishment /əˈkʌmplɪʃmənt/ – an impressive thing that is done or achieved after a lot of

work

room for improvement /ɪmˈpruːvmənt/ – a possibility or hope that someone or something will
improve

an underdog /ˈʌndədɒɡ/ – a person, team, etc. that does not have a high chance of success or
winning because of being seemingly weaker than others

Adjectives and adverbs

impressive /ɪmˈpresɪv/ – if an object or achievement is impressive, you admire or respect it,

usually because it is special, important, or very large (e.g. impressive accomplishments)

mediocre /ˌmiːdiˈəʊkə(r)/ – not very good; of only average standard (e.g. mediocre
peerformance)

phenomenal /fəˈnɒmɪnl/ – very great or impressive (e.g. phenomenal success)

unproductive /ˌʌnprəˈdʌktɪv/ – not producing very much or not having positive results

Verbs and verb phrases

to abandon /əˈbændən/ – to stop doing something, especially before it is finished; to stop having
something

to be doomed to failure /duːmd/ – something unpleasant is certain to happen, and you can do
nothing to prevent it

to come off /kʌm/ – to happen as planned, or to succeed

to dash one’s hopes /dæʃ/ – to destroy someone's plans, disappoint or disillusion

to gain respect /ɡeɪn/ – to earn ones’ respect

to go wrong /ɡəʊ rɒŋ/ – to make a mistake or a bad decision

to make a breakthrough /ˈbreɪkθruː/ – to make an important development that may lead to an

agreement or achievement

to make headway /ˈhedweɪ/ – to make progress; to move forward in one's work or activity

to push yourself /pʊʃ/ – to make yourself work very hard in order to achieve something

to suffer a setback /ˈsetbæk/ – to face a difficulty or problem that delays or prevents something,
or makes a situation worse
to take a chance /teɪk/ – to do something that could have either good or bad results

Idioms and set phrases

a blessing in disguise = something that seems bad or unlucky at first but causes something good
to happen later

last resort = the only choice that remains after all others have been tried

to be a recipe for disaster = to be very likely to become a disaster, success, etc.

to be no mean feat = to be a great achievement

to blow a chance = to miss an opportunity

to look on the bright side = to find good things in a bad situation