unachieved

Word family

• achieve
  verbB1
• achieved
  adjectiveB1
• achievement
  nounB2
• achievable
  adjectiveB2
• unachievable
  adjectiveC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

All three synonyms describe something that has not reached its intended state, but they differ in what they typically modify. Unfulfilled is the most emotionally charged — it often attaches to hopes, promises, or potential (an unfulfilled promise, unfulfilled potential) and implies a sense of letdown. Unrealized focuses on what could have existed but did not come about; it pairs naturally with dreams, ambitions, and potential (unrealized ambitions, unrealised gains). Incomplete is the broadest — it works for any task or set that is missing a part (an incomplete project, an incomplete collection) and carries no implication of effort having been made. Use unachieved when you want to stress that someone tried, worked, or waited for a specific outcome that did not arrive.

Common collocations

Etymology

Formed in English by adding the negative prefix un- to the past participle achieved, which itself comes from the verb achieve — borrowed from Old French achever meaning 'to finish, complete, or bring to a head'. The French word traces back to the Latin phrase ad caput venīre 'to come to a head' (caput = head).