"fail" | Definition and Related Words

fail

Verb

Fail to do something;
Leave something undone (synset 202534950)
"She failed to notice that her child was no longer in his crib"; "The secretary failed to call the customer and the company lost the account"
subtypes:
- lose track - fail to keep informed or aware
- strike out - put out or be put out by a strikeout
- default, default on - fail to pay up
- choke - fail to perform adequately due to tension or agitation
- muff - fail to catch, as of a ball
- miss - fail to attend an event or activity
same as: neglect
Be unsuccessful (synset 202534046)
"Where do today's public schools fail?"; "The attempt to rescue the hostages failed miserably"
subtypes:
- take it on the chin - undergo failure or defeat
- miss - fail to reach or get to
- overreach - fail by aiming too high or trying too hard
- ball up, blow, bobble, bodge, bollix, bollix up, bollocks, bollocks up, botch, botch up, bumble, bungle, flub, fluff, foul up, fuck up, fumble, louse up, mess up, mishandle, muck up, muff, screw up, spoil - make a mess of, destroy or ruin
- strike out - be unsuccessful in an endeavor
- fall - suffer defeat, failure, or ruin
- shipwreck - suffer failure, as in some enterprise
- fall flat, fall through, flop, founder - fail utterly; collapse
same as: go wrong, miscarry
Disappoint, prove undependable to;
Abandon, forsake (synset 201803246)
"His sense of smell failed him this time"; "His strength finally failed him"; "His children failed him in the crisis"

is a type of: disappoint, let down - fail to meet the hopes or expectations of

same as: betray
Stop operating or functioning (synset 200435327)
"The engine finally went"; "The car died on the road"; "The bus we travelled in broke down on the way to town"; "The coffee maker broke"; "The engine failed on the way to town"; "her eyesight went after the accident"

is a type of: change - undergo a change; become different in essence; losing one's or its original nature
subtypes:
- crash, go down - stop operating
- blow, blow out, burn out - melt, break, or become otherwise unusable
- misfire - fail to fire or detonate
- malfunction, misfunction - fail to function or function improperly
same as: break, break down, conk out, die, give out, give way, go, go bad
verb group:
- break - render inoperable or ineffective
- buy the farm, cash in one's chips, choke, conk, croak, decease, die, drop dead, exit, expire, give-up the ghost, go, kick the bucket, pass, pass away, perish, pop off, snuff it - pass from physical life and lose all bodily attributes and functions necessary to sustain life
Be unable (synset 202605525)
"I fail to understand your motives"
Judge unacceptable (synset 202529450)
"The teacher failed six students"

is a type of: evaluate, judge, pass judgment - form a critical opinion of

verb group: bomb, fail, flunk, flush it - fail to get a passing grade
Fail to get a passing grade (synset 202529187)
"She studied hard but failed nevertheless"; "Did I fail the test?"

same as: bomb, flunk, flush it
verb group:
- fail - fall short in what is expected
- fail - judge unacceptable
Fall short in what is expected (synset 202527985)
"She failed in her obligations as a good daughter-in-law"; "We must not fail his obligation to the victims of the Holocaust"

verb group: bomb, fail, flunk, flush it - fail to get a passing grade
Become bankrupt or insolvent;
Fail financially and close (synset 202323383)
"The toy company went bankrupt after the competition hired cheap Mexican labor"; "A number of banks failed that year"
Prove insufficient (synset 200561324)
"The water supply for the town failed after a long drought"

same as: give out, run out
Get worse (synset 200172922)
"Her health is declining"

is a type of: decline, worsen - grow worse

fail

Found on Word Lists

Other Searches