Link Centre Dictionary

failure

fai·lure

UK/ˈfeɪ.ljə/ US/ˈfeɪ.ljəɹ/ common

noun

1.

an act that fails

  • “his failure to pass the test”
2.

an event that does not accomplish its intended purpose

  • “the surprise party was a complete failure”
Antonyms
3.

lack of success

  • “he felt that his entire life had been a failure”
  • “that year there was a crop failure”
Antonyms
4.
5.

an unexpected omission

  • “he resented my failure to return his call”
  • “the mechanic”
6.

inability to discharge all your debts as they come due

  • “the company had to declare bankruptcy”
  • “fraudulent loans led to the failure of many banks”
Synonyms
7.

loss of ability to function normally

  • “kidney failure”

Origin

From Anglo-Norman failer, from Old French faillir (“to fail”). Equivalent to fail + -ure.

Phrases

  • acute kidney failure
  • acute renal failure
  • congestive cardiac failure
  • failure drill
  • failure is the best teacher
  • failure rate
  • failure to prepare is preparing to fail
  • government failure

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Narrower terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.