“Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice, and most of all, love for what you’re doing or learning to do.” – Soccer legend, Pele
Words of wisdom, no doubt. Success is something we all have a share of in our lives. It’s only about working hard for it, and cherishing it when you’ve gained it.
Symbolically, success has a different meaning for different people. It may be acquiring a multi-national company for one person, or it can be earning enough money to buy food for the day for another.
Similarly, there are different ways of referring to success in our language.
With several synonyms that give rise to different meanings, success comes in many shapes and forms. Take a look at the synonyms for the word “success” and how they can be used in language.
12 Synonyms for “success”
- achievement
- accomplishment
- prosperity
- triumph
- advance
- affluence
- conquest
- fruition
- progress
- ascendancy
- milk and honey
- sensation
1. Achievement
“Success” is one of the most unique words, and cannot be replaced by any word to convey the exact same meaning. However, “achievement” has a very similar meaning, and it’s as close as one can get to the meaning of the word “success.”
“Achievement” is usually used to describe the attainment of a goal. In this context, the word denotes the attainment of success. However, the word can also be used in a way where it acts as a substitute to “success.” Here are some examples.
2. Accomplishment
The dictionary describes “accomplishment” as something that has been achieved successfully. This shows that the word in question is very close to the word “success” in terms of meaning.
One could say that “accomplishment” means the same thing as “achievement.” But there’s a very slight difference in the gist of the word compared to the gist of “success.”
The word “accomplishment” can be used when describing someone’s success in attaining a goal. “Accomplishment” also means to be very good at doing something, which sounds a bit distant from the meaning of “success.”
However, the “success” synonym can still be used for most of its meanings to act as an alternative word for “success.”
3. Prosperity
“Prosperity” is one of the more articulate words to use instead of “success.” Generally, the word is used to refer to the thriving, flourishing, good fortune, and high social status.
The word is mostly used to represent the thriving condition of the subject, be it a person, a business, a cause, or a county. You can use this word when denoting the success of a country, or a person in terms of material wealth.
It should be kept in mind that the word is mostly used to describe material wealth, riches, or a good economic condition.
Although the word can still be used when talking about an immaterial subject, it is better to indicate what you’re talking about, or what it is that’s prosperous.
For instance, when talking about a person’s success in being creative, one can’t say, “prosperity of creativity” as the words do not complement each other.
This is because creativity is an immaterial subject.
4. Triumph
“Triumph” simply means to win or achieve something great. This is a fancy alternative word for “success” and can make your text or speech sound exquisite.
The word “triumph” is mostly used when you’re mentioning success in winning, especially competition between two opponents.
This word is not suitable to be used to describe someone’s success in winning a competition with more than two participants.
This is because the word means the same thing as “beat” or “overcome.” So, it’s better to use it when describing a great achievement or winning a one-on-one contest.
5. Advance
“Advance” can simply be described as the act of moving forward. Although this seems like a verb, the word can also be used in the noun form, which is closer in meaning to “success.”
“Advance” can be used when talking about an entity’s success in moving forward, achieving milestones, and covering part of its trajectory.
It’s not the most widely used synonym for “success,” but you’re encouraged to use it if you want to sound a bit unconventional.
Because the word can be used both as a verb and a noun, both versions can be used in place of “success.” Here’s how.
6. Affluence
If you want to describe someone’s success in life, particularly in amassing material wealth, chances are slim that you’d find a word better than “affluence.”
This elegant-sounding word can add a sophisticated touch to your language.
You’re recommended to use this word if you want to be descriptive and convey two separate messages with one word.
Using the word “affluence” can effectively convey that the subject is successful and that the subject is successful with money, as in “well-off”.
The noun and adjective forms of the word, “affluence” and “affluent” can respectively substitute the noun and adjective forms, “success” and “successful.” Here are some examples of how you can use “affluence.”
7. Conquest
“Conquest” is a classic word used when an army subjugates the enemy and takes control over a specific place.
The word is mostly used to describe armed battles, however, the use of the word has taken a new turn lately.
Today, the word “conquest” is not just used for a military occupation but also as a synonym for success.
Because an army ‘succeeds’ to take control over an area in a conquest, “conquest” is now used in a variety of contexts to signify success.
It must be noted, however, that this word cannot replace success in every instance. “Conquest” is better used in place of “success” if it’s used in the context of winning a competition, or overcoming great problems.
8. Fruition
The technical definition of “fruition” is the state or act of producing fruit.
Inferring that fruiting or bearing fruit is an instance of success, the word “fruition” can also be used for its definition: the successful realization or fulfillment of a project.
This word is a distinct synonym of “success” because it has a meaning that’s different than all other synonyms and gives rise to a unique idea. It means success and the fruitful attainment of an objective.
The word can also be used in place of success in sentences like, “their efforts were successful in helping them attain their goal.”
This could simply be replaced with, “their efforts led to fruition.” Here are some examples of how to use this word.
9. Progress
“Progress” can simply be defined as the state of moving forward. More symbolically, it’s moving forward in attaining milestones and reaching closer to your objective.
This word can be a great alternative term to “success,” especially when you want to refer to success in moving forward with ambition or an objective that has not fully culminated.
You’re advised not to use “progress” in place of “success” when talking about winning, or reaching a successful end. It’s only suitable for describing ‘ongoing’ subjects. For example,
Her progress in the field of literature has helped her qualify as the world’s 50 most influential writers in 2021.
Completing the second phase of this mega-project is great progress.
10. Ascendancy
In the dictionary, “ascendancy” is described as the rise or occupation to a position of a higher power.
Of course, this means the word is primarily used when talking about professional promotions, more specifically in governments and monarchies.
However, modern use of this word has taken it out of the limited definition mentioned above.
It can now be used to describe success, as in moving up the ladder, gaining more of something, or in fact, moving to a position of a higher power.
“Ascendancy” is a fancier alternative to success and will make a great addition to your vocabulary. In addition to that, this word can also be used in a variety of other instances.
For instance, it can be used as a synonym for “promotion,” or describe which team is in the winning position in a match.
The Los Angeles Lakers gained ascendancy towards the end of the game.
Their ascendancy to the best service provider in the market is truly remarkable.
We live in an era of the ascendancy of democracy and human rights.
11. Milk and honey
Apart from the single word synonyms for “success,” “milk and honey” is a great choice if you want to add a greater number of words to your phrase or sentence. As we know, a greater number of words always adds more weight to a sentence.
But this phrase can only be used for a very narrow range of contexts. Generally, “milk and honey” is described as wealth and prosperity.
The term has biblical origins where it was used to mention that the Promised Land or Paradise will have flowing milk and honey.
Taking from this, it is evident that the term “milk and honey” can only be used in place of “success” in cases where “success” is referring to material wealth. Here are some examples of how to use this term.
The new economic reforms will turn the state into a land of milk and honey.
She is a truly hard-working person. There’s no doubt that her hard work has brought milk and honey into her life.
12. Sensation
Sometimes we can refer to a highly popular movie, show, book, or topic as a “success.” In this context, “success” refers to the widespread popularity of the subject, which in the case of movies and books, marks their success.
“Sensation” is a great synonym for “success” when used in the setting mentioned above. But this is the only use that it can apply to. For instance, “sensation” can not be used in the place of “success” which is referring to progress or advancement.
Here are some examples of how to use the word “sensation” as a synonym for “success.”
The movie, 2012, was truly a sensation in the world of entertainment.
Most of Tom Cruise’s movies amass great viewership. His acting and stunts are what make him a sensation among all the other actors.
Conclusion
As we transition towards the conclusion of the article, we acknowledge that learning about and remembering all the new words can be tricky. Hence, we recommend you solidify these words in your memory by jotting down a few sentences using the words.
For the sake of reiteration, we must mention that “success” is one of the few words in the English language that do not have a synonym that can serve exactly the same meaning as itself.
All the synonyms you’ve learned about in this article give rise to slightly different nuances than “success” itself.
Hey fellow Linguaholics! It’s me, Marcel. I am the proud owner of linguaholic.com. Languages have always been my passion and I have studied Linguistics, Computational Linguistics and Sinology at the University of Zurich. It is my utmost pleasure to share with all of you guys what I know about languages and linguistics in general.