| / English Dictionary |
FAIL
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (verb)
Verb forms
Present simple: I / you / we / they fail ... he / she / it fails
Past simple: failed
Past participle: failed
-ing form: failing
Sense 1
Meaning:
Get worse
Example:
Her health is declining
Classified under:
Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.
Hypernyms (to "fail" is one way to...):
Sentence frame:
Something ----s
Sense 2
Meaning:
Stop operating or functioning
Example:
her eyesight went after the accident
Synonyms:
break; break down; conk out; die; fail; give out; give way; go; go bad
Classified under:
Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.
Hypernyms (to "fail" is one way to...):
change (undergo a change; become different in essence; losing one's or its original nature)
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)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "fail"):
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)
Sentence frame:
Something ----s
Sentence example:
These cars won't fail
Derivation:
failure (loss of ability to function normally)
Sense 3
Meaning:
Prove insufficient
Example:
The water supply for the town failed after a long drought
Synonyms:
fail; give out; run out
Classified under:
Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.
Sentence frame:
Something ----s
Sense 4
Meaning:
Disappoint, prove undependable to; abandon, forsake
Example:
His children failed him in the crisis
Synonyms:
betray; fail
Classified under:
Verbs of feeling
Hypernyms (to "fail" is one way to...):
disappoint; let down (fail to meet the hopes or expectations of)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody
Sense 5
Meaning:
Become bankrupt or insolvent; fail financially and close
Example:
A number of banks failed that year
Classified under:
Verbs of buying, selling, owning
Sentence frames:
Something ----s
Somebody ----s
Derivation:
failure (inability to discharge all your debts as they come due)
Sense 6
Meaning:
Fall short in what is expected
Example:
We must not fail his obligation to the victims of the Holocaust
Classified under:
Verbs of political and social activities and events
Verb group:
bomb; fail; flunk; flush it (fail to get a passing grade)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s PP
Derivation:
failing (a flaw or weak point)
failure (an event that does not accomplish its intended purpose)
Sense 7
Meaning:
Fail to get a passing grade
Example:
Did I fail the test?
Synonyms:
bomb; fail; flunk; flush it
Classified under:
Verbs of political and social activities and events
Verb group:
fail (fall short in what is expected)
fail (judge unacceptable)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s something
Antonym:
pass (go successfully through a test or a selection process)
Derivation:
failing (failure to reach a minimum required performance)
Sense 8
Meaning:
Judge unacceptable
Example:
The teacher failed six students
Classified under:
Verbs of political and social activities and events
Hypernyms (to "fail" is one way to...):
evaluate; judge; pass judgment (form a critical opinion of)
Verb group:
bomb; fail; flunk; flush it (fail to get a passing grade)
Sentence frame:
Somebody ----s somebody
Antonym:
pass (accept or judge as acceptable)
Derivation:
failing (failure to reach a minimum required performance)
Sense 9
Meaning:
Be unsuccessful
Example:
The attempt to rescue the hostages failed miserably
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Verbs of political and social activities and events
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "fail"):
fall flat; fall through; flop; founder (fail utterly; collapse)
shipwreck (suffer failure, as in some enterprise)
fall (suffer defeat, failure, or ruin)
strike out (be unsuccessful in an endeavor)
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)
overreach (fail by aiming too high or trying too hard)
miss (fail to reach or get to)
take it on the chin (undergo failure or defeat)
Sentence frames:
Something ----s
Somebody ----s
Something is ----ing PP
Somebody ----s PP
Antonym:
succeed (attain success or reach a desired goal)
Derivation:
failure (an act that fails)
failure (an event that does not accomplish its intended purpose)
failure (a person with a record of failing; someone who loses consistently)
failure (lack of success)
Sense 10
Meaning:
Fail to do something; leave something undone
Example:
The secretary failed to call the customer and the company lost the account
Synonyms:
fail; neglect
Classified under:
Verbs of political and social activities and events
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "fail"):
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)
Sentence frame:
Somebody ----s to INFINITIVE
Derivation:
failure (an unexpected omission)
Sense 11
Meaning:
Be unable
Example:
I fail to understand your motives
Classified under:
Verbs of political and social activities and events
Sentence frame:
Somebody ----s to INFINITIVE
Antonym:
manage (be successful; achieve a goal)
Context examples:
One of two possible results of a pass/fail assessment; when the result satisfies a condition.
(Pass, NCI Thesaurus)
You may need an organ transplant if one of your organs has failed.
(Organ Transplantation, NIH)
The transfer of an organ (or part of one) from one body to another, for the purpose of replacing the recipient's damaged or failing organ with a working one from the donor.
(Organ Transplantation, NCI Thesaurus)
If I fail, you will see me again soon, or never.
(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)
Indicates that an individual fails to meet the criteria for a particular study.
(Not Meeting Criteria, NCI Thesaurus)
Issue arising from the device failing to deliver the specified liquid or gas.
(No Flow Medical Device Problem, Food and Drug Administration)
It should be differentiated from DRUG RESISTANCE wherein an organism, disease, or tissue fails to respond to the intended effectiveness of a chemical or drug.
(Drug tolerance, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)
When your kidneys fail, you need treatment to replace the work your kidneys used to do.
(Dialysis, NIH: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases)
If the damage continues, your kidneys could fail.
(Diabetic Kidney Problems, NIH: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases)
Issue associated with the device failing to complete a series of processes or events.
(Failure to Cycle Medical Device Problem, Food and Drug Administration)
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE
