Word of the Week

To ACHIEVE means to succeed in doing or having what you planned or intended, usually after a lot of hard work and effort.

But what sort of things can you achieve? Success? Popularity? Fame?

Well, it depends on who the achiever is?

A student achieves academic success after passing all his/her exams.
A writer might achieve worldwide acclaim if his/her books win important awards.
Actors whose films are great successes achieve fame and fortune.
An artist might achieve popularity if his/her paintings are sold all over the world.
A scientist might achieve a breakthrough if he/she discovers a new vaccine.
A sales team achieves its goals if they reach all their targets.

So, a person can be a low-achiever or a high-achiever, depending on how successful they are. You can also call someone an underachiever if they do not achieve the level of success that they are expected to.

If something can be achieved you can say it is achievable. Eg, I don’t think the sales targets are achievable this month.
If something is achieved you can call it an achievement. Eg, Winning the Nobel Peace Prize is an incredible achievement.

And when you achieve something you often feel a sense of achievement - a good feeling from knowing that all your hard work has been worth it. Eg, Studying for a degree has been hard work but when I passed my final exams I felt a huge sense of achievement.

Resource: ipassielts.com