malfunction
English · Thesaurus
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malfunction
- /ˌmælˈfʌŋk.ʃən/ UK, US
Rhymes with -ʌŋkʃən
Where it comes from
From mal- (“bad, incorrect”) + function.
noun malfunctions
-
Faulty functioning.
This weekend, as videos of robotaxi malfunctions began appearing on social media, opponents say they are seeing their fears realized.
Similar: dysfunction, misfunction
- Failure to function.
verb malfunctions · malfunctioning · malfunctioned
- To function improperly. She told him the machine was poorly built, but they both knew that she was the one who had malfunctioned.
- To fail to function.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: misfunction, misfire, wrong-doing, defect, error, mishap, glitch, fault, mistake, wrongdoing, failure, failed, shortcoming, fail, imperfection, deficiency
Translations
Every language
noun faulty functioning
| Español | funcionamiento defectuoso, malfuncionamiento, mal funcionamiento, falla, fallo |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 고장 gojang |
| 日本語 | 故障 koshō |
| 中文 | 故障 gùzhàng |
| Português | mau funcionamento, funcionamento defeituoso |
| Français | défaut de fonctionnement |
| Deutsch | Fehlfunktion, Funktionsstörung |
| Italiano | malfunzionamento |
| Ελληνικά | δυσλειτουργία dysleitourgía |
| Русский | неиспра́вность neisprávnostʹ, сбой sboj |
| Tiếng Việt | trục trặc |
noun failure to function
| Português | não-funcionamento |
|---|---|
| Français | défaut de fonctionnement |
| Deutsch | Fehlfunktion, Funktionsstörung |
| Italiano | malfunzionamento |
| Ελληνικά | δυσλειτουργία dysleitourgía |
| Русский | поло́мка polómka |
verb to function improperly
| Español | funcionar / funcar mal / malamente, fallar |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | nicht funktionieren |
| Русский | пло́хо рабо́тать plóxo rabótatʹ, барахли́ть baraxlítʹ |
verb to fail to function
| 한국어 | 고장이 나다 gojang'i nada |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | nicht funktionieren |
| Русский | не рабо́тать ne rabótatʹ |
Talk about this word "malfunction." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/malfunction. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. malfunction. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/malfunction "malfunction." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/malfunction.Cite this
@misc{malfunction_2026,
title = {malfunction},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/malfunction},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
