Achieve and Complete

Achieve

Achieve verb - To carry through (as a process) to completion.
Usage example: finally achieved his purpose, which was to form a first-class boys' choir made up of inner-city kids

Complete is a synonym for achieve in activity topic. In some cases you can use "Complete" instead a verb "Achieve", when it comes to topics like finish, settle, perfect, aim.

Complete

Complete verb - To bring (something) to a state where nothing remains to be done.
Usage example: managed to complete the assignment with time to spare

Achieve is a synonym for complete in activity topic. You can use "Achieve" instead a verb "Complete", if it concerns topics such as finish, settle, aim, do.

Common collocations

look achieve look complete look
end achieve end complete end
time achieve time complete time
level achieve level complete level
Other words: objective, goal, ending, mission, revenge, objectives, goals.

Both words in one sentence

  • Web Video / Marble Hornets It was fully complete, but scrapped because it didn't achieve what the creators had hoped it to do.
  • Also, a literal use of this trope since, to achieve this ending, the player must complete the game twice at the lower difficulty settings, and then finish the game in Extreme difficulty.
  • Seekers: Young Giselda the wingling sets out from her home to complete a quest allowing her to achieve adulthood.
Cite this Source
Complete and Achieve. (2016). Retrieved 2026, July 21, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/achieve/complete
Achieve & Complete. N.p., 2016. Web. 21 Jul. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/achieve/complete>.
Complete or Achieve. 2016. Accessed July 21, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/achieve/complete.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "achieve" and "complete" have occurred on timeline