underachievement

noun

An achievement that is less than expected; underperformance.

Opposite
overachievement
OriginEnglish achievement ← Middle French achevement ← Old French achevement →
UncommonScrabble 27
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Meanings

noununderachievement (countable and uncountable, plural underachievements)

plural underachievements

  1. countableuncountableAn achievement that is less than expected; underperformance.

    This underachievement is linked to a laddish culture […]

    2006, Carolyn Jackson, Lads and Ladettes in School: Gender and a Fear of Failure

Synonyms & antonyms

nounpoorer than expected performance (poorer than might have been predicted from intelligence tests)

Opposite
overachievement
Broader
performance

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₁én
  2. Proto-Indo-European*h₁entér
  3. Proto-Indo-European*h₂én
  4. Proto-Indo-European*dʰeh₁-?
  5. Proto-Indo-European*(H)n̥dʰí
  6. Proto-Indo-European*(H)n̥dʰér
  7. Proto-Germanic*under
  8. Proto-West Germanic*undar
  9. Old Englishunder-
  10. Middle Englishunder-
  11. Englishunder-
  12. Vulgar Latin*accapāre
  13. Old Frenchachever
  14. Old Frenchachevement
  15. Middle Frenchachevement
  16. Englishachievement
  17. Englishunderachievement

From under- + achievement.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

underachievement. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/underachievement

MLA

“underachievement.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/underachievement. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “underachievement,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/underachievement.

Source: underachievement on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.