failure (ˈfeɪljə
)
Definitions
noun
- the act or an instance of failing
- a person or thing that is unsuccessful or disappointing ⇒
the evening was a failure
- nonperformance of something required or expected ⇒
failure to attend will be punished
- cessation of normal operation; breakdown ⇒
a power failure
- an insufficiency or shortage ⇒
a crop failure
- a decline or loss, as in health or strength
- the fact of not reaching the required standard in an examination, test, course, etc
- the act or process of becoming bankrupt or the state of being bankrupt
Synonyms
View thesaurus entry= lack of success
defeat,
collapse,
abortion,
wreck,
frustration,
breakdown,
overthrow,
miscarriage,
fiasco,
downfall,
=
catastrophe,
disaster,
fiasco,
let-down,
trouble,
tragedy,
blunder,
misfortune,
devastation,
calamity,
mishap,
=
loser,
disappointment,
no-good,
flop,
write-off,
incompetent,
no-hoper,
dud,
clinker,
black sheep,
washout,
clunker,
dead duck,
ne'er-do-well,
saddo,
nonstarter,
=
negligence,
neglect,
deficiency,
default,
shortcoming,
omission,
oversight,
dereliction,
nonperformance
nonobservance,
nonsuccess
remissness,
=
bankruptcy,
crash,
collapse,
ruin,
folding,
closure,
winding up,
downfall,
going under,
liquidation,
insolvency,
Quotations
"There's many a slip 'twixt the cup and the lip"
"A failure is a stranger in his own house"
"There is not a fiercer hell than the failure in a great object"
"There is no failure except in no longer trying"
Translations
- British English:
failure
Failure is a lack of success in doing or achieving something.The project ended in failure last year.ˈfeɪljə NOUN The project ended in failure last year.
- Spanish:
fracaso
nm
- French:
échec
nm
- German:
Versagen
nnt
- Chinese: 失败 n
- Arabic: فَشَل n
- Portuguese: fracasso nm
- Russian: неудача nf
- Croatian: neuspjeh nm
- Czech: nezdar nm
- Danish: fiasko nutr
- Dutch: mislukking nf
- Finnish: epäonnistuminen n
- Greek: αποτυχία nf
- Italian: fallimento nm
- Japanese: 失敗 n
- Korean: 실패 n
- Norwegian: fiasko nm
- Polish: niepowodzenie nnt
- Brazilian Portuguese: fracasso nm
- European Spanish:
fracaso
nm
- Swedish: misslyckande nnt
- Thai: ความล้มเหลว n
- Turkish: başarısızlık n
- Vietnamese: sự thất bại n
Usage examples
These two things seemed to bear down on me with all the weight of a personal failure.
, THE EXECUTION (2002)Finally, a video game that rewards repeated failure just like the presidency!
Maxim (2005)Biggest failure It is hard to pinpoint a particular issue on which Ahern has failed.
Irish Times (2002)William Hague's failure to mention the epidemic was'further indication of the sheer opportunistic short-termism ' of the Tory campaign.
Glasgow Herald (2001)Death has become a kind of failure -- a failure to eat the right food, or exercise, or avoid the sun.
, HEAVEN: A Traveller's Guide to the Undiscovered Country (2002)