Accomplished

How to spell accomplished

12 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce accomplished

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does accomplished mean?

1. adjectiveHighly skilled or expert in a particular activity, through training and practice.
2. verbPast form of accomplish: successfully achieved or completed something.

Accomplished in a sentence

• adjective

  She is an accomplished pianist who has performed across Europe.

• verb

  The team had accomplished every goal on the project plan.

• adjective

  The firm hired an accomplished negotiator to close the deal.

• verb

  By noon she had accomplished more than the rest of the office.

Where does accomplished come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin verb complere, meaning 'to fill up' or 'to complete', which was built from the prefix com- 'fully' and the root plere 'to fill', the same root that gives us 'complete' and 'plenty'. From complere came the Vulgar Latin form accomplere, carrying the sense of carrying something through to its finish. English borrowed it during the 1300s through the Old French accomplir, and Middle English speakers added the native -ish ending (as in 'finish' and 'punish') to make 'accomplish'. The adjective sense, describing a person who is highly skilled or polished, grew naturally from the idea of someone whose education or training had been fully completed. The doubled c and single m are the spelling trap, and they make more sense once you see that the c belongs to the ac- prefix while the single m comes from the com- that was reduced in French.

How the word is built

• ac- (to)
• com- (fully)
• pl (from Latin plere: to fill)
• -ish (verb-forming)
• -ed (past participle/adjective)