Words / C1

s-uh-k-SES-uh/səkˈsesə/

A successor is the person or thing that comes next in a role: her successor, a successor model. Predecessor is the one before. Success is doing well — a painful lookalike. Succession is the process of following (a succession of chairs). Do not call a deputy a successor while the post is still filled.

Meaning

A person or thing that follows another in a job, role, or series.

Examples

• “Her successor inherited a tidy archive and an angry inbox.”
• “The successor inherited the archive and the complaint log.”
• “A succession of interns is a series; a successor is the one named to the seat.”

Good to know

The one who comes next. Opposite: predecessor. Process: succession. Mix-up: success (doing well). Not the still-serving deputy.

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