Dictionary entry details
• FAIL (verb)
Meaning:
Fail to do something; leave something undone
Classified under:
Verbs of political and social activities and events
Synonyms:
fail; neglect
Context examples:
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
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "fail"):
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
Meaning:
Be unsuccessful
Classified under:
Verbs of political and social activities and events
Synonyms:
go wrong; miscarry; fail
Context examples:
Where do today's public schools fail? / The attempt to rescue the hostages failed miserably
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)
Meaning:
Disappoint, prove undependable to; abandon, forsake
Classified under:
Verbs of feeling
Synonyms:
fail; betray
Context examples:
His sense of smell failed him this time / His strength finally failed him / His children failed him in the crisis
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
Meaning:
Stop operating or functioning
Classified under:
Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.
Synonyms:
go bad; conk out; give way; give out; fail; die; break down; break; go
Context examples:
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
Hypernyms (to "fail" is one way to...):
change (undergo a change; become different in essence; losing one's or its original nature)
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
Meaning:
Be unable
Classified under:
Verbs of political and social activities and events
Context example:
I fail to understand your motives
Sentence frame:
Somebody ----s to INFINITIVE
Antonym:
manage (be successful; achieve a goal)
Meaning:
Judge unacceptable
Classified under:
Verbs of political and social activities and events
Context example:
The teacher failed six students
Hypernyms (to "fail" is one way to...):
evaluate; judge; pass judgment (form a critical opinion of)
Sentence frame:
Somebody ----s somebody
Antonym:
pass (accept or judge as acceptable)
Meaning:
Fail to get a passing grade
Classified under:
Verbs of political and social activities and events
Synonyms:
flunk; flush it; bomb; fail
Context examples:
She studied hard but failed nevertheless / Did I fail the test?
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s something
Antonym:
pass (go successfully through a test or a selection process)
Meaning:
Fall short in what is expected
Classified under:
Verbs of political and social activities and events
Context examples:
She failed in her obligations as a good daughter-in-law / We must not fail his obligation to the victims of the Holocaust
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s PP
Meaning:
Become bankrupt or insolvent; fail financially and close
Classified under:
Verbs of buying, selling, owning
Context examples:
The toy company went bankrupt after the competition hired cheap Mexican labor / A number of banks failed that year
Sentence frames:
Something ----s
Somebody ----s
Meaning:
Prove insufficient
Classified under:
Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.
Synonyms:
give out; run out; fail
Context example:
The water supply for the town failed after a long drought
Sentence frame:
Something ----s
Meaning:
Get worse
Classified under:
Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.
Context example:
Her health is declining
Hypernyms (to "fail" is one way to...):
decline; worsen (grow worse)
Sentence frame:
Something ----s
