only succeed in

idiom

: to do the opposite of what one is trying to do : to achieve an undesired result
I tried to apologize but only succeeded in making her angrier.

Examples of only succeed in in a Sentence

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Scammers only succeed in defrauding people because their victims didn't perform any due diligence. Jay Adkisson, Forbes, 28 Mar. 2024 Yet, even with work underway to improve the sustainability of AI products, de Vries says, these solutions may still only succeed in helping the reach of these AIs to grow even further. IEEE Spectrum, 29 Oct. 2023

Dictionary Entries Near only succeed in

Cite this Entry

“Only succeed in.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/only%20succeed%20in. Accessed 5 Jan. 2025.

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