Meaning & use
resounding success
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Meaning
nouncountable
A complete and impressive achievement that everyone clearly recognizes.
Grammar: Takes a: the festival was a resounding success.
Patterns
- a resounding success
- be a resounding success
The charity auction was a resounding success, raising twice the goal.
Her first novel proved a resounding success with readers.
The new bus route has been a resounding success.
Word forms
| plural | resounding successes |
|---|
Common combinations
- prove a resounding success
- The trial program proved a resounding success.
- a resounding success story
- The school garden became a resounding success story.
- declared a resounding success
- Organizers declared the event a resounding success.
- be hailed as a resounding success
- The launch was hailed as a resounding success.
Synonyms and how they differ
- triumph
- This is a little more dramatic and suggests overcoming difficulty.
- great success
- This is plainer and less emphatic.
- runaway success
- This stresses fast, uncontrolled popularity.
- smash hit
- This is informal and mostly applies to shows, songs and films.
Opposites
Word family
- resound verb
- to echo loudly
- resounding adjective
- loud and unmistakable
- resoundingly adverb
- very clearly or completely
- success noun
- achieving a goal
- successful adjective
- achieving a goal
Commonly confused: resounding success or resonating?
resounding success vs resonating
Resonating means having a strong echo or emotional effect, whereas resounding means loud or complete.
Practice
The school fair raised more money than ever, making it a ___ success.
Choose one answer.
Resounding fits success as a strong intensifier; resolute describes determined people and does not collocate with success.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “resounding success”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.