poorly successful

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase "poorly successful" is not standard in written English, but it can be understood in context.
It can be used to describe a situation where something has achieved some level of success, but not to a satisfactory degree. Example: "The project was poorly successful, as it met only half of its initial goals."

Science

News & Media

Encyclopedias

Wiki

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

1 human-written examples

H/C PA usually carry a dismal prognosis with a high frequency of relapse leading to iterative surgery, often associated with further postoperative treatment that remains poorly successful.

Acta neuropathologica communications

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

58 human-written examples

"Thus far in the season, promotions appear to be deeper than last year, and inventory levels across the sector are growing faster than sales, which bodes poorly for successful price increases," Adrienne Tennant, an analyst at Janney Capital Markets who covers apparel stores, wrote in a note to clients this week.

The New York Times

Although they were greatly outnumbered, poorly equipped, and successful in only a few engagements, the rebels gained support among the artisan, worker, lower gentry, and official classes in the cities and stimulated peasant revolts against the large landlords in rural areas.

Encyclopedia Britannica

The diversity angle has been usurped by the mayor as a platform to deflect attention from profound systematic discrepancies between poorly performing and successful elementary and middle schools.

Huffington Post

Overall survival rates are poorly known; the successful return of breeding adults at South Georgia Island varied between 49% and 78% over three years, and around 10% of those that did return did not breed the following year.

Wikipedia

Solar policies should encourage local ownership and energy democracy, like the poorly named but highly successful feed-in tariff.

Huffington Post

Over the four decades of Communist rule that followed Stalin's demise, campaigns to discourage Russians from drinking occasionally sprang up; they were usually poorly enforced and never successful.

Vice

Warshaw also believes that Atari's downfall was more a result of their business practices including alleged block booking of poorly selling games with successful ones when dealing with distributors than any specific failed games.

Wikipedia

The ratio between the RMSEP in the poorly-accessible and accessible areas was 0.67 0.72, showing that the methodology can be applied to predict SOC in poorly-accessible areas as successful as in accessible areas.

Geoderma

This was the most high-profile protest, even if it was poorly planned and not particularly successful, and it chimed with black flags on the Kop and similar grumbles about high prices and absurd scheduling in this country.

The Guardian - Sport

Development of successful formulations for poorly water-soluble drugs remains a longstanding critical and challenging issue in cancer therapy.

Journal of Controlled Release

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

When using "poorly successful", ensure the context clearly indicates the degree and nature of the limited success. Consider alternative phrases like "marginally successful" or "partially successful" for clearer communication.

Common error

Avoid using "poorly successful" to describe situations with little to no success. Reserve it for cases where some level of achievement exists, however limited.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "poorly successful" functions as an adverb-adjective combination, modifying the degree of success. It indicates that something achieved some level of success, but not to a satisfactory or significant extent. This is supported by Ludwig's examples showing its use in various contexts where outcomes are less than ideal.

Expression frequency: Rare

Frequent in

Science

30%

News & Media

30%

Encyclopedias

20%

Less common in

Wiki

10%

Formal & Business

5%

Social Media

5%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

In summary, "poorly successful" is a less common but understandable phrase used to describe something that achieved a limited degree of success. While grammatically acceptable, it is advisable to consider clearer alternatives such as "marginally successful" or "partially successful" for improved clarity and impact. Ludwig's analysis reveals that while its usage spans across different domains, it does not have a strong preference for formality, and it’s important to ensure context accurately reflects limited achievement. Keep in mind the suggestions mentioned by Ludwig to avoid overstating limited success and choose phrases carefully. The AI Response status indicates that this phrase is acceptable, so use with the mentioned considerations to ensure precision in writing.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

marginally successful

Indicates a slight degree of success, but not significantly so.

partially successful

Suggests success was achieved in some aspects but not entirely.

somewhat successful

Implies a moderate level of success, but with limitations.

not entirely successful

Highlights that success was incomplete or flawed.

moderately successful

Denotes a success level between limited and high.

limited success

Emphasizes the constrained nature of the success.

relatively unsuccessful

Indicates a lack of success when compared to something else.

hardly successful

Implies a minimal degree of success.

scarcely successful

Emphasizes the rarity or difficulty of achieving success.

incompletely successful

Highlights that success was not fully realized.

FAQs

How can I use "poorly successful" in a sentence?

You can use "poorly successful" to describe something that achieved some degree of success, but not to the desired extent. For example: "The project was "poorly successful", as it only met half of its initial goals."

What are some alternatives to "poorly successful"?

Alternatives include "marginally successful", "partially successful", or "somewhat successful" depending on the specific context.

Is "poorly successful" grammatically correct?

While not a standard phrase, "poorly successful" is grammatically understandable. However, it's recommended to use clearer alternatives for better communication.

When should I avoid using "poorly successful"?

Avoid using "poorly successful" when describing complete failures or situations with no success. It's best suited for instances where some level of achievement was attained, albeit limited.