Meaning & use
triumph
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Meanings
nouncountable or uncountable
A great success or victory, especially one that came after difficulty or against the odds.
Grammar: Countable for an achievement (a triumph); uncountable for the feeling or state of winning.
Patterns
- a triumph for someone
- a triumph of something
- a triumph over something
Winning the final was a triumph for the whole village.
The bridge is a triumph of engineering.
Her triumph over illness inspired many people.
noununcountable
The joy or pride felt on winning or achieving something difficult.
Grammar: Often follows in or with: he held the trophy in triumph.
Patterns
- in triumph
- with triumph
He raised the trophy in triumph.
She announced the result with quiet triumph.
A cry of triumph rose from the crowd.
verbintransitive
To win or succeed, especially after a struggle or against strong opposition.
Grammar: No object; usually followed by over: triumph over fear.
Patterns
- triumph over something
- triumph over someone
Good sense triumphed over panic.
The underdogs triumphed in the final minute.
She triumphed over a field of far more experienced rivals.
Word forms
| plural | triumphs |
|---|---|
| third person singular | triumphs |
| past tense | triumphed |
| past participle | triumphed |
| -ing form | triumphing |
Common combinations
- a personal triumph
- Finishing the marathon was a personal triumph for him.
- triumph over adversity
- The film is about triumph over adversity.
- in triumph
- The team returned home in triumph.
- a moment of triumph
- It was a moment of triumph for the young chef.
- triumph over evil
- Fairy tales often end with good triumphing over evil.
Synonyms and how they differ
- victory
- Victory is a plain word for winning a contest, while triumph adds the sense of a remarkable achievement.
- success
- Success can be small or ordinary, whereas triumph is impressive and often followed by celebration.
- conquest
- Conquest suggests overcoming through force, so it is narrower than triumph.
- prevail
- As a verb, prevail suggests winning out slowly or in the end, where triumph is more dramatic.
Opposites
Word family
- triumphant adjective
- having won, or showing joy at winning
- triumphantly adverb
- in a way that shows victory
- triumphal adjective
- celebrating a victory, as in a triumphal arch
Commonly confused: triumph or trumpet? triumph or triumphant?
triumph vs trumpet
Trumpet is an instrument or a verb meaning to announce loudly; it sounds a little like triumph but is unrelated.
triumph vs triumphant
Triumphant is the adjective, so say a triumphant return, not a triumph return.
Practice
After years of training, she ____ over an injury to win a medal.
Choose one answer.
Triumphed is the simple past verb and takes over. Triumphant is an adjective and triumphing needs a helper verb.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “triumph”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.