accomplishment
noun
Accomplishment — the satisfaction of having seen something through
Definition
The action of accomplishing something
In depth
An accomplishment is the act, or the result, of successfully completing something one has set out to do, the bringing of effort to a satisfying conclusion. The word carries a quiet sense of earned pride, distinguishing what has been genuinely achieved from what was merely attempted or hoped for.
Origin
The word descends from Old French acomplir, to complete or fulfill, ultimately from Latin complere, to fill up or complete. That sense of filling something to completion remains the word's essential image: an accomplishment is a goal not merely reached but filled all the way to its intended capacity.
Usage examples
"Raising five children alone, she considered her single greatest accomplishment, however little the world recognized it as such."
"The young engineer's quiet accomplishment went largely unnoticed outside her small department."
"He measured his life less by accomplishment than by the people he had managed, somehow, not to disappoint."
How to use it
Accomplishment suits reflective, biographical, and motivational prose, often used to evaluate a life or career retrospectively. It carries a slightly warmer, more personal tone than 'achievement,' which can sometimes sound more formal or external.
Related concepts
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