fail
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fail¹
- /feɪl/
Sounds like fell (fell-fail merger) · Rhymes with -eɪl
Where it comes from
Inherited from Middle English failen, borrowed from Old French falir, from Vulgar Latin *fallire, alteration of Latin fallere (“to deceive, disappoint”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰāl- (“to lie, deceive”) or Proto-Indo-European *(s)gʷʰh₂el- (“to stumble”).
Compare Alemannic German fääle (“to lack”), Cimbrian béelan, véelan (“to fail”), veln (“to be absent, missing”), Dutch falen, feilen (“to fail, miss”), German fallieren, fehlen (“to fail, miss, lack”), Danish fejle (“to fail, err”), Swedish fallera (“to fail, break, malfunction”), Spanish fallar (“to fail, miss”).
verb fails · failing · failed · fail
-
To be unsuccessful.
Throughout my life, I have always failed.
Similar: miscarry, founder, come to nought, come to nothing, crash and burn, fall flat, fall on one's face, go downhill, go down the toilet, go to pot, go to the dogs, go up in flames
- Not to achieve a particular stated goal. (Usage note: The direct object of this word is usually an infinitive.) The truck failed to start.
- To neglect. The report fails to take into account all the mitigating factors.
- Of a machine, etc.: to cease to operate correctly. After running five minutes, the engine failed.
- To be wanting to, to be insufficient for, to disappoint, to desert; to disappoint one's expectations. I've failed my parents many times growing up.
-
To receive one or more non-passing grades in academic pursuits.
I failed English last year.
Similar: flunk
- To give a student a non-passing grade in an academic endeavour. The professor failed me because I did not complete any of the course assignments.
- To miss attaining; to lose. though that seat of earthly bliss be failed
- To be wanting; to fall short; to be or become deficient in any measure or degree up to total absence. The crops failed last year.
- To be affected with want; to come short; to lack; to be deficient or unprovided; used with of. If ever they fail of beauty, this failure is not to be attributed to their size.
- To fall away; to become diminished; to decline; to decay; to sink. When earnestly they seek / Such proof, conclude they then begin to fail.
- To deteriorate in respect to vigour, activity, resources, etc.; to become weaker. A sick man fails.
- To perish; to die; used of a person. had the king in his last sickness failed
- To err in judgment; to be mistaken. Which ofttimes may succeed, so as perhaps / Shall grieve him, if I fail not.
- To become unable to meet one's engagements; especially, to be unable to pay one's debts or discharge one's business obligation; to become bankrupt or insolvent. "But you cannot tell where she went on leaving here?" Robert asked, despondingly. "No, sir; missus says she believes the lady failed, and that she left sudden like, and didn't want her address to be known in the neighbourhood."
Opposite: succeed
noun fails · faile · fayle
- A failure, especially of a financial transaction (a termination of an action).
- A failing grade in an academic examination.
- A failure (something incapable of success).
- Poor quality; substandard workmanship. The project was full of fail.
adjective more fail · most fail · faile · fayle
- Unsuccessful; inadequate; unacceptable in some way.
fail²
- /feɪl/
Sounds like fell (fell-fail merger) · Rhymes with -eɪl
Where it comes from
Unknown. Compare Scottish Gaelic fàl (“hedge”), Scots faill (“turf”). Attested from the 16th century.
noun fails · feal
- A piece of turf cut from grassland.
Fail³
Where it comes from
* As a Scottish and Irish surname, shortened from McPhail.
* As a Manx surname, variant of Fayle.
* As a south German surname, from the adjective feil (“for sale”).
proper noun Fails
- A surname.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: flunk, miscarry, neglect, go wrong, die, break down, betray, conk out, break, give way, run out, give out, bomb, go, flush it, miss
verb
Opposite: succeed
Translations
Every language
verb cause to fail
| Português | reprovar |
|---|---|
| Français | recaler |
| Română | strica |
| Русский | прова́ливать proválivatʹ, провали́ть provalítʹ |
verb intransitive: be unsuccessful
| Español | fracasar, zozobrar, escollar |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 실패하다 silpaehada |
| 日本語 | 失敗する shippai suru |
| 中文 | 失敗 /失败 shībài |
| Português | falhar, fracassar |
| Français | échouer, rater |
| Deutsch | scheitern, keinen Erfolg haben, ohne Erfolg bleiben, nicht gelingen, missglücken |
| Italiano | bocciare, fallire |
| Ελληνικά | αποτυγχάνω apotyncháno |
| Română | rata |
| Русский | терпе́ть неуда́чу terpétʹ neudáču, потерпе́ть неуда́чу poterpétʹ neudáču, прова́ливаться proválivatʹsja, провали́ться provalítʹsja, не удава́ться ne udavátʹsja, не уда́ться ne udátʹsja |
| Tiếng Việt | thất bại |
| العربية | أَخْفَقَ ʔaḵfaqa, فَشِلَ fašila |
| עברית | כשל kashál |
verb transitive: not achieve a stated goal
| Español | negar, fracasar, no conseguir, darse un sentón, no lograr, no llegar a |
|---|---|
| Português | deixar de, não conseguir |
| Français | faillir, échouer, rater |
| Deutsch | fehlschlagen |
| Italiano | fallire, cannare, toppare, fare cilecca |
| Русский | терпе́ть неуда́чу terpétʹ neudáču, потерпе́ть неуда́чу poterpétʹ neudáču, не справля́ться ne spravljátʹsja, не спра́виться ne správitʹsja |
| עברית | נִכְשַׁל nikhshál |
verb be negligent
| Português | deixar de |
|---|---|
| Français | négliger, oublier, omettre |
| Italiano | mancare, omettere, negligere, ignorare, tralasciare |
| Русский | пренебрега́ть prenebregátʹ, пренебре́чь prenebréčʹ |
verb cease to operate
| Español | pararse |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 故障 gùzhàng |
| Português | pifar, falhar |
| Français | tomber en panne, cesser, s'arrêter |
| Deutsch | versagen |
| Italiano | fallire, andare in bancarotta, fare bancarotta |
| Română | se strica |
| Русский | выходи́ть из стро́я vyxodítʹ iz strója, вы́йти из стро́я výjti iz strója, не рабо́тать ne rabótatʹ |
verb to be wanting to, to be insufficient for, to disappoint, to desert
| Español | reprobar |
|---|---|
| Français | décevoir, être insuffisant |
Talk about this word "fail." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/fail. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. fail. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/fail "fail." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/fail.Cite this
@misc{fail_2026,
title = {fail},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/fail},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
