underachieve

/ˌʌndə(ɹ)əˈt͡ʃiːv/ verb

To achieve less than expected; to fail to fulfil one's potential.

Word Origin A compound of under 'below' and achieve, which comes from Latin ad- 'to' and caput 'head' — originally 'to bring to a head,' to finish. So underachieve is literally 'to finish below' expectations. The same caput gives us capital, captain, decapitate (remove head). Achieve itself is a great example of a metaphor: bringing something to a head like a boil coming to a point.

verb To achieve less than expected; to fail to fulfil one's potential.

Despite his high IQ, he continued to underachieve in all his academic subjects.

(动词) 未达预期;表现不佳;未能发挥潜力

尽管他智商很高,但在所有学科上他仍然表现不佳。

(verbo) rendir por debajo de lo esperado; no dar la talla; quedarse corto [Lograr menos de lo esperado; no alcanzar el propio potencial.]

A pesar de su alto cociente intelectual, seguía **rindiendo por debajo de su capacidad** en todas sus materias académicas.

(verbe) sous-performer; ne pas être à la hauteur de son potentiel; ne pas réaliser son potentiel [Obtenir des résultats inférieurs à ce qui est attendu ; ne pas exploiter pleinement son potentiel.]

Malgré son QI élevé, il continuait à **underachieve** dans toutes ses matières scolaires.

(Verb) unter seinen Möglichkeiten bleiben; leistungsmäßig zurückbleiben [Weniger leisten oder erreichen, als aufgrund der eigenen Fähigkeiten oder Erwartungen zu erwarten wäre.]

Trotz seiner Begabung **underachieve**te er in der Schule und verpasste seine Chancen.

(動詞) 期待されたほどの成果を上げないこと;自分の潜在能力を発揮できないこと。

高い知能指数を持っていたにもかかわらず、彼はすべての学業科目で実力を出し切れないままだった。

(verbo) render abaixo do esperado; ter um desempenho abaixo do esperado [Realizar menos do que o esperado; falhar em cumprir o próprio potencial.]

Apesar do seu alto QI, ele continuou a ter um desempenho abaixo do esperado em todas as matérias acadêmicas.

Word parts: under + achieve

Related words

Get offline access, pronunciation, spaced repetition, and learning games:

Download Syntaxiom →
📱 Offline access 🔊 Pronunciation 🧠 Spaced repetition 📖 Native language bridges