failure

fail·ure  (flyr)

n.

1. The condition or fact of not achieving the desired end or ends: the failure of an experiment.

2. One that fails: a failure at one's career.

3. The condition or fact of being insufficient or falling short: a crop failure.

4. A cessation of proper functioning or performance: a power failure.

5. Nonperformance of what is requested or expected; omission: failure to report a change of address.

6. The act or fact of failing to pass a course, test, or assignment.

7. A decline in strength or effectiveness.

8. The act or fact of becoming bankrupt or insolvent.

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[Alteration of failer, default, from Anglo-Norman, from Old French faillir, to fail; see fail.]

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failure [ˈfeɪljə]

n

1. the act or an instance of failing

2. a person or thing that is unsuccessful or disappointing the evening was a failure

3. nonperformance of something required or expected failure to attend will be punished

4. cessation of normal operation; breakdown a power failure

5. an insufficiency or shortage a crop failure

6. a decline or loss, as in health or strength

7. (Social Science / Education) the fact of not reaching the required standard in an examination, test, course, etc.

8. (Economics, Accounting & Finance / Banking & Finance) the act or process of becoming bankrupt or the state of being bankrupt

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	failure - an act that fails; "his failure to pass the test" nonaccomplishment, nonachievement - an act that does not achieve its intended goal flunk, failing - failure to reach a minimum required performance; "his failing the course led to his disqualification"; "he got two flunks on his report" naught - complete failure; "all my efforts led to naught" loss - the act of losing someone or something; "everyone expected him to win so his loss was a shock" lapsing, relapse, relapsing, backsliding, reverting, lapse, reversion - a failure to maintain a higher state misplay, error - (baseball) a failure of a defensive player to make an out when normal play would have sufficed out - (baseball) a failure by a batter or runner to reach a base safely in baseball; "you only get 3 outs per inning" nonconformance, nonconformity - failure to conform to accepted standards of behavior nonpayment, nonremittal, default - act of failing to meet a financial obligation
	2.	failure - an event that does not accomplish its intended purpose; "the surprise party was a complete failure" happening, natural event, occurrence, occurrent - an event that happens downfall, ruination, ruin - failure that results in a loss of position or reputation flame-out - a complete or conspicuous failure; "the spectacular flame-out of the company's stock cost many people their life savings" malfunction - a failure to function normally miscarriage, abortion - failure of a plan misfire, miss - a failure to hit (or meet or find etc) bust, fizzle, flop - a complete failure; "the play was a dismal flop" miscreation, malformation - something abnormal or anomalous equipment failure, breakdown - a cessation of normal operation; "there was a power breakdown" defeat, licking - an unsuccessful ending to a struggle or contest; "it was a narrow defeat"; "the army's only defeat"; "they suffered a convincing licking" success - an event that accomplishes its intended purpose; "let's call heads a success and tails a failure"; "the election was a remarkable success for the Whigs"
	3.	failure - lack of success; "he felt that his entire life had been a failure"; "that year there was a crop failure" circumstances, luck, destiny, fate, fortune, lot, portion - your overall circumstances or condition in life (including everything that happens to you); "whatever my fortune may be"; "deserved a better fate"; "has a happy lot"; "the luck of the Irish"; "a victim of circumstances"; "success that was her portion" bankruptcy - a state of complete lack of some abstract property; "spiritual bankruptcy"; "moral bankruptcy"; "intellectual bankruptcy" bank failure - the inability of a bank to meet its credit obligations crop failure - the failure of crops to produce a marketable surplus dead duck - something doomed to failure; "he finally admitted that the legislation was a dead duck"; "the idea of another TV channel is now a dead duck"; "as theories go, that's a dead duck" success - a state of prosperity or fame; "he is enjoying great success"; "he does not consider wealth synonymous with success"
	4.	failure - a person with a record of failing; someone who loses consistently nonstarter, unsuccessful person, loser unfortunate, unfortunate person - a person who suffers misfortune bankrupt, insolvent - someone who has insufficient assets to cover their debts flash in the pan - someone who enjoys transient success but then fails dud, flop, washout - someone who is unsuccessful underdog - one at a disadvantage and expected to lose
	5.	failure - an unexpected omission; "he resented my failure to return his call"; "the mechanic's failure to check the brakes" dashing hopes, disappointment - an act (or failure to act) that disappoints someone breach - a failure to perform some promised act or obligation copout - a failure to face some difficulty squarely omission, skip - a mistake resulting from neglect
	6.	failure - 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" bankruptcy insolvency - the lack of financial resources
	7.	failure - loss of ability to function normally; "kidney failure" disorder, upset - a physical condition in which there is a disturbance of normal functioning; "the doctor prescribed some medicine for the disorder"; "everyone gets stomach upsets from time to time" coronary failure, heart failure - inability of the heart to pump enough blood to sustain normal bodily functions kidney failure, renal failure - inability of the kidneys to excrete wastes and to help maintain the electrolyte balance

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failure

noun

1. lack of success, defeat, collapse, abortion, wreck, frustration, breakdown, overthrow, miscarriage, fiasco, downfall The policy is doomed to failure.
lack of success success, triumph, effectiveness, adequacy

2. catastrophe, disaster, fiasco, let-down, trouble, tragedy, blunder, misfortune, devastation, calamity, mishap The marriage was a failure and they both wanted to be free of it.

3. loser, disappointment, no-good, flop (informal), write-off, incompetent, no-hoper (chiefly Austral.), dud (informal), clinker (slang, chiefly U.S.), black sheep, washout (informal), clunker (informal), dead duck (slang), ne'er-do-well, saddo (Brit. slang), nonstarter I just felt I had been a failure in my personal life.

4. negligence, neglect, deficiency, default, shortcoming, omission, oversight, dereliction, nonperformance, nonobservance, nonsuccess, remissness They didn't prove his case of a failure of duty.
negligence care, observance

5. breakdown, stalling, cutting out, malfunction, crash, disruption, stoppage, mishap, conking out (informal) There were also several accidents mainly caused by engine failures on take-off.

6. failing, deterioration, decay, loss, decline He was being treated for kidney failure.

7. scarcity, lack, shortfall, inadequacy, dearth, insufficiency displaced by fighting or crop failure

8. bankruptcy, crash, collapse, ruin, folding (informal), closure, winding up, downfall, going under, liquidation, insolvency Business failures rose 16% last month.
bankruptcy fortune, prosperity

Related words
fear kakorraphiaphobia

Quotations
"A failure is a stranger in his own house" [Eric Hoffer The Passionate State of Mind]
"There is not a fiercer hell than the failure in a great object" [John Keats Endymion]
"There is no failure except in no longer trying" [Elbert Hubbard The Note Book]

Translations

failure [ˈfeɪljəʳ]

A. N

1. (= lack of success) → fracaso m; (in exam) → suspenso m; [of crops] → pérdida f; [of supplies] → corte m, interrupción f; [of hopes] → frustración f, malogro m
to end in failure → acabar mal, malograrse(LAm)
it was a complete failure → fue un fracaso total
the crop was a total failure → la cosecha se perdió por completo
see also power C

2. (Tech) → fallo m, avería f (Med) → crisis f inv, ataque m (Fin) → quiebra f
see also heart

3. (= person) → fracasado/a m/f

4. (= neglect) → falta f
his failure to come → su ausencia, el que no viniera
failure to pay → incumplimiento m en el pago, impago m

B. CPD failure rate N (in exams) → porcentaje m de suspensos; [of machine] → porcentaje m de averías

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failure [ˈfeɪljə^r] n

(= lack of success) [activity, attempt, plan] → échec m; [remedy] → inefficacité f
feelings of failure → un sentiment d'échec
to end in failure → se solder par un échec

(= unsuccessful person) → raté(e) m/f
He's a failure → C'est un raté.

(= unsuccessful marriage, relationship, event) → échec m
It was a complete failure → Ce fut un échec total.

(= breakdown) [equipment, machine] → défaillance f
a mechanical failure → une défaillance mécanique
a power failure → une panne de courant
engine failure → panne f de moteur

(MEDICINE) kidney failure → insuffisance f rénale
heart failure (= chronic condition) → insuffisance f cardiaque (= cardiac arrest) → arrêt m du cœur
to suffer heart failure → être victime d'un arrêt cardiaque

(= omission)
his failure to turn up → le fait de n'être pas venu, le fait qu'il ne soit pas venu
their disgraceful failure to support British citizens → leur manque de soutien déplorable aux citoyens britanniques
the family's repeated failure to keep their hospital appointments → la succession de rendez-vous d'hôpital manqués de cette famille, le fait que cette famille ait négligé de manière systématique de se présenter à ses rendez-vous à l'hôpital

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failure

n

(= lack of success) → Misserfolg m; (of campaign, efforts, negotiations, plan, experiment, marriage) → Fehlschlag m, → Scheitern nt; (of undertaking, attempt) → Fehlschlag m; (of application) → Ablehnung f; (in exam, Theat: of play) → Misserfolg m, → Durchfall m; (of business) → Eingehen nt; failure to do something → vergeblicher Versuch, etw zu tun; failure rate (in exams) → Misserfolgsquote f; (of machine) → Fehlerquote f

(= unsuccessful person) → Versager(in) m(f), → Niete f (inf) (→ at in +dat); (= unsuccessful thing) → Misserfolg m, → Reinfall m (inf), → Pleite f (inf); I’m a bit of a failure at making my own clothes → ich bin eine ziemliche Niete, wenn es darum geht, meine eigenen Kleider zu nähen (inf)

(= omission, neglect) because of his failure to reply/act → weil er nicht geantwortet/gehandelt hat, weil er es versäumt or unterlassen hat zu antworten/zu handeln; his failure to notice anything → weil er nichts bemerkt hat; failure to pay will result in prosecution → im Nichteinbringungsfall erfolgt Anzeige (form); failure to perform one’s duty → Nichterfüllung f → seiner Pflicht; failure to appear → Nichterscheinen nt (form)

(of health) → Verschlechterung f; (of hearing, eyesight) → Nachlassen nt; (of invalid) → Nachlassen nt → der Kräfte

(= breakdown, of generator, engine, electricity, pump, engine) → Ausfall m; (of brakes) → Versagen nt; (of supply, wind) → Ausbleiben nt; heart/kidney/liver failure → Herz-/Nieren-/Leberversagen nt; failure of crops → Missernte f; (complete) → Ernteausfall m

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failure [ˈfeɪljəʳ] n (gen) → fallimento; (in exam) → bocciatura; (of crops) → perdita; (breakdown) → guasto, avaria; (person) → fallito/a; (omission) his failure to come/answer → il fatto che non sia venuto/abbia risposto
to end in failure → fallire
it was a complete failure → è stato un vero fiasco
failure rate (gen) → numero di insuccessi (Scol) → numero di respinti

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failure [ˈfeɪljəʳ] n (gen) → fallimento; (in exam) → bocciatura; (of crops) → perdita; (breakdown) → guasto, avaria; (person) → fallito/a; (omission) his failure to come/answer → il fatto che non sia venuto/abbia risposto
to end in failure → fallire
it was a complete failure → è stato un vero fiasco
failure rate (gen) → numero di insuccessi (Scol) → numero di respinti

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failure → فشل nezdar fiasko Versagen αποτυχία fracaso epäonnistuminen échec neuspjeh fallimento 失敗 실패 mislukking fiasko niepowodzenie fracasso неудача misslyckande ความล้มเหลว başarısızlık sự thất bại 失败