By Letter: Non-alphabet | A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z

FAIL

Definition:

1. [verb] fail to do something; leave something undone; "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"
   Synonyms: neglect
   
   
2. [verb] be unsuccessful; "Where do today's public schools fail?"; "The attempt to rescue the hostages failed miserably"
   Synonyms: go wrong, miscarry
   
   
3. [verb] disappoint, prove undependable to; abandon, forsake; "His sense of smell failed him this time"; "His strength finally failed him"; "His children failed him in the crisis"
   Synonyms: betray
   
   
4. [verb] stop operating or functioning; "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"
   Synonyms: go bad, give way, die, give out, conk out, go, break, break down
   
   
5. [verb] be unable; "I fail to understand your motives"
   
   
6. [verb] judge unacceptable; "The teacher failed six students"
   
   
7. [verb] fail to get a passing grade; "She studied hard but failed nevertheless"; "Did I fail the test?"
   Synonyms: flunk, bomb, flush it
   
   
8. [verb] fall short in what is expected; "She failed in her obligations as a good daughter-in-law"; "We must not fail his obligation to the victims of the Holocaust"
   
   
9. [verb] become bankrupt or insolvent; fail financially and close; "The toy company went bankrupt after the competition hired cheap Mexican labor"; "A number of banks failed that year"
   
   
10. [verb] prove insufficient; "The water supply for the town failed after a long drought"
    Synonyms: run out, give out
    
    
11. [verb] get worse; "Her health is declining"
    
    

Synonyms:

• Search for synonyms for FAIL

Related Words:

• strike out
• default, default on
• choke
• muff
• miss
• take it on the chin
• miss
• overreach
• botch, bumble, fumble, botch up, muff, blow, flub, screw up, ball up, spoil, muck up, bungle, fluff, bollix, bollix up, bollocks, bollocks up, bobble, mishandle, louse up, foul up, mess up, fuck up
• strike out
• fall
• shipwreck
• fall through, fall flat, founder, flop
• crash, go down
• blow out, burn out, blow
• misfire
• malfunction, misfunction

Web Standards & Support: