Accomplish: Definition, Usage & Synonyms

Meaning 1：achieve, complete successfully (accomplish)

accomplish 🔊

/əˈkʌmplɪʃ/

vt.

to finish something you planned or tried to do, especially after putting in effort.

Accomplish definition illustrated by a person checking off the final task on a to-do list with satisfaction.

achieve, complete successfully 🔊

➕

/əˈtʃiːv, kəmˈpliːt səkˈsɛsfəli/

vt.

To successfully bring to a conclusion or reach a desired end, especially through effort or skill.

📁 Category：Behaviors & Actions 🔖 Level：Intermediate

📘 Details & Usage

📖 Root Explanation

From Latin 'ad-' (to) + 'complere' (to fill up, complete). To accomplish is to complete something fully.

💡 Mnemonic

A COP can COMPLETELY finish a mission. Think: A COP (ac-) COMPL (completely) -ishes a task.

📖 Example

After months of hard work, she finally accomplished her goal of writing a novel. 🔊 Following months of dedicated effort, she successfully achieved her objective of authoring a novel.

🔗 Collocations

accomplish a task – to complete a specific piece of work

accomplish a mission – to achieve the objective of an important assignment or duty

accomplish nothing – to fail to achieve any result or progress

🔄 Synonyms

achieve (vt.) – to successfully reach a desired objective or result.

complete (vt.) – to finish making or doing something.

fulfill (vt.) – to bring to reality or carry out as promised or expected.

🚫 Antonyms

fail (v.) – to be unsuccessful in achieving a goal.

abandon (vt.) – to give up completely on a course of action or goal.

give up (phr. v.) – to stop trying to do something.

🌱 Derivatives

accomplished (adj.) – highly trained or skilled in a particular activity; successfully completed.

accomplishment (n.) – something that has been achieved successfully; the successful completion of a task.

unaccomplished (adj.) – not completed or achieved; lacking skills or achievements.

📖 Cultural Story

Derives from Old French 'acomplir', ultimately from Latin 'complēre' (to fill up, complete). It entered English around the 14th century, carrying the sense of bringing something to completion or fulfillment. It is a common term in modern goal-setting contexts, from business objectives to personal achievements.