fail (redirected from without fail)

fail  (fl)

v. failed, fail·ing, fails

v.intr.

1. To prove deficient or lacking; perform ineffectively or inadequately: failed to fulfill their promises; failed in their attempt to reach the summit.

2. To be unsuccessful: an experiment that failed.

3. To receive an academic grade below the acceptable minimum.

4. To prove insufficient in quantity or duration; give out: The water supply failed during the drought.

5. To decline, as in strength or effectiveness: The patient's heart began to fail.

6. To cease functioning properly: The engine failed.

7. To give way or be made otherwise useless as a result of excessive strain: The rusted girders failed and caused the bridge to collapse.

8. To become bankrupt or insolvent: Their business failed during the last recession.

v.tr.

1. To disappoint or prove undependable to: Our sentries failed us.

2. To abandon; forsake: His strength failed him.

3. To omit to perform (an expected duty, for example): "We must . . . hold . . . those horrors up to the light of justice. Otherwise we would fail our inescapable obligation to the victims of Nazism: to remember" Anthony Lewis.

4. To leave undone; neglect: failed to wash the dishes.

5.

a. To receive an academic grade below the acceptable minimum in (a course, for example): failed algebra twice.

b. To give such a grade of failure to (a student): failed me in algebra.

n.

1. Failure to deliver securities to a purchaser within a specified time.

2. Failure to receive the proceeds of a transaction, as in the sale of stock or securities, by a specified date.

Idiom:

without fail

With no chance of failure: Be here at noon without fail.

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[Middle English failen, from Old French faillir, from Vulgar Latin *fallre, variant of Latin fallere, to deceive.]

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fail

Verb

1. to be unsuccessful in an attempt

2. to stop operating

3. to judge or be judged as being below the officially accepted standard required in a course or examination

4. to prove disappointing or useless to someone: the government has failed the homeless

5. to neglect or be unable to do something: he failed to repair the car

6. to go bankrupt

Noun

1. a failure to attain the required standard

2. without fail

a. regularly or without exception: use this shampoo once a week without fail

b. definitely: they agreed to enforce the embargo without fail [Latin fallere to disappoint]

Thesaurus

Verb	1.	fail - fail to do something; leave something undone; "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" neglect lose track - fail to keep informed or aware; "She has so many books, she just lost track and cannot find this volume" strike out - put out or be put out by a strikeout; "Oral struck out three batters to close the inning" default, default on - fail to pay up choke - fail to perform adequately due to tension or agitation; "The team should have won hands down but choked, disappointing the coach and the audience" muff - fail to catch, as of a ball miss - fail to attend an event or activity; "I missed the concert"; "He missed school for a week"
	2.	fail - be unsuccessful; "Where do today's public schools fail?"; "The attempt to rescue the hostages failed miserably" go wrong, miscarry take it on the chin - undergo failure or defeat miss - fail to reach or get to; "She missed her train" overreach - fail by aiming too high or trying too hard bobble, bodge, bollix, bollix up, bollocks, bollocks up, botch, botch up, bumble, bungle, flub, fluff, foul up, fuck up, louse up, mess up, mishandle, muck up, ball up, spoil, muff, screw up, fumble, blow - make a mess of, destroy or ruin; "I botched the dinner and we had to eat out"; "the pianist screwed up the difficult passage in the second movement" strike out - be unsuccessful in an endeavor; "The candidate struck out with his health care plan" fall - suffer defeat, failure, or ruin; "We must stand or fall"; "fall by the wayside" shipwreck - suffer failure, as in some enterprise fall flat, fall through, founder, flop - fail utterly; collapse; "The project foundered" bring home the bacon, deliver the goods, succeed, win, come through - attain success or reach a desired goal; "The enterprise succeeded"; "We succeeded in getting tickets to the show"; "she struggled to overcome her handicap and won"
	3.	fail - disappoint, prove undependable to; abandon, forsake; "His sense of smell failed him this time"; "His strength finally failed him"; "His children failed him in the crisis" betray disappoint, let down - fail to meet the hopes or expectations of; "Her boyfriend let her down when he did not propose marriage"
	4.	fail - stop operating or functioning; "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" conk out, go bad, break down, die, give out, give way, break, go change - undergo a change; become different in essence; losing one's or its original nature; "She changed completely as she grew older"; "The weather changed last night" break - render inoperable or ineffective; "You broke the alarm clock when you took it apart!" croak, decease, die, drop dead, buy the farm, cash in one's chips, give-up the ghost, kick the bucket, pass away, perish, snuff it, pop off, expire, conk, exit, choke, go, pass - pass from physical life and lose all bodily attributes and functions necessary to sustain life; "She died from cancer"; "The children perished in the fire"; "The patient went peacefully"; "The old guy kicked the bucket at the age of 102" go down, crash - stop operating; "My computer crashed last night"; "The system goes down at least once a week" blow out, burn out, blow - melt, break, or become otherwise unusable; "The lightbulbs blew out"; "The fuse blew" misfire - fail to fire or detonate; "The guns misfired" malfunction, misfunction - fail to function or function improperly; "the coffee maker malfunctioned"
	5.	fail - be unable; "I fail to understand your motives" bring off, carry off, manage, negociate, pull off - be successful; achieve a goal; "She succeeded in persuading us all"; "I managed to carry the box upstairs"; "She pulled it off, even though we never thought her capable of it"; "The pianist negociated the difficult runs"
	6.	fail - judge unacceptable; "The teacher failed six students" pass judgment, evaluate, judge - form a critical opinion of; "I cannot judge some works of modern art"; "How do you evaluate this grant proposal?" "We shouldn't pass judgment on other people" flunk, flush it, bomb, fail - fail to get a passing grade; "She studied hard but failed nevertheless"; "Did I fail the test?" pass - accept or judge as acceptable; "The teacher passed the student although he was weak"
	7.	fail - fail to get a passing grade; "She studied hard but failed nevertheless"; "Did I fail the test?" flunk, flush it, bomb fail - fall short in what is expected; "She failed in her obligations as a good daughter-in-law"; "We must not fail his obligation to the victims of the Holocaust" fail - judge unacceptable; "The teacher failed six students" make it, pass - go successfully through a test or a selection process; "She passed the new Jersey Bar Exam and can practice law now"
	8.	fail - fall short in what is expected; "She failed in her obligations as a good daughter-in-law"; "We must not fail his obligation to the victims of the Holocaust" flunk, flush it, bomb, fail - fail to get a passing grade; "She studied hard but failed nevertheless"; "Did I fail the test?"
	9.	fail - become bankrupt or insolvent; fail financially and close; "The toy company went bankrupt after the competition hired cheap Mexican labor"; "A number of banks failed that year"
	10.	fail - prove insufficient; "The water supply for the town failed after a long drought" give out, run out
	11.	fail - get worse; "Her health is declining" decline, worsen - grow worse; "Conditions in the slum worsened"

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fail

verb 1. be unsuccessful, founder, fall flat, come to nothing, fall, miss, go down, break down, flop (informal) be defeated, fall short, fall through, fall short of, fizzle out (informal) come unstuck, run aground, miscarry, be in vain, misfire, fall by the wayside, go astray, come to grief, come a cropper (informal) bite the dust, go up in smoke, go belly-up (slang) come to naught, lay an egg (slang), chiefly U.S., Canad. go by the board, not make the grade (informal) go down like a lead balloon (informal) turn out badly, fall flat on your face, meet with disaster, be found lacking or wanting << OPPOSITE succeed

verb 2. disappoint, abandon, desert, neglect, omit, let down, forsake, turn your back on, be disloyal to, break your word, forget

verb 3. stop working, stop, die, give up, break down, cease, stall, cut out, malfunction, conk out (informal) go on the blink (informal) go phut

verb 4. wither, perish, sag, droop, waste away, shrivel up

verb 5. go bankrupt, crash, collapse, fold (informal) close down, go under, go bust (informal) go out of business, be wound up, go broke (informal) go to the wall, go into receivership, go into liquidation, become insolvent, smash

verb 6. decline, fade, weaken, deteriorate, dwindle, sicken, degenerate, fall apart at the seams, be on your last legs (informal)

verb 7. give out, disappear, fade, dim, dwindle, wane, gutter, languish, peter out, die away, grow dim, sink >> without fail without exception, regularly, constantly, invariably, religiously, unfailingly, conscientiously, like clockwork, punctually, dependably

Translations

fail [feɪl] vt → suspender; [memory etc] → fallar a

vi → suspender (= be unsuccessful); fracasar; [strength, brakes, engine] → fallar;

to fail to do sth (= neglect) → dejar de hacer algo;

(be unable) → no poder hacer algo;

without fail → sin falta;

words fail me! → ¡no sé qué decir!

fail [feɪl] vt [+ exam] → échouer à [+ candidate]; recaler;

(subj) [courage, memory] → faire défaut à

vi → échouer; [supplies] → manquer; [eyesight, health, light] (also: be failing) → baisser, s'affaiblir; [brakes] → lâcher;

to fail to do sth (= neglect) → négliger de or ne pas faire qch (= be unable); ne pas arriver or parvenir à faire qch;

without fail → à coup sûr; sans faute

fail [feɪl] vt (exam) → nicht bestehen;

(candidate) → durchfallen lassen;

(subj) (courage) → verlassen: (leader, memory) → im Stich lassen

vi (candidate) → durchfallen;

(attempt) → fehlschlagen;

(brakes) → versagen;

(also: be failing) (health) → sich verschlechtern: (eyesight, light) → nachlassen;

to fail to do sth → etw nicht tun;

(neglect) → (es) versäumen, etw zu tun;

without fail → ganz bestimmt

fail [feɪl] vt [+ exam] → non superare [+ candidate]; bocciare; [courage, memory] → mancare a

vi → fallire; [student] → essere respinto/a; [supplies] → mancare; [eyesight, health, light] (also: be failing) → venire a mancare; [brakes] → non funzionare;

to fail to do sth (= neglect) → mancare di fare qc (= be unable); non riuscire a fare qc;

without fail → senza fallo; certamente

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fail

v fail [feil]

1 to be unsuccessful (in); not to manage (to do something) They failed in their attempt; I failed my exam; I failed to post the letter. faal, druip, versuim يَفْشَل провалям (се) neuspět, nepodařit se fejle; mislykkes; ikke kunne versagen, versäumen αποτυγχάνω, δεν καταφέρνω fracasar ebaõnnestuma, tegemata jätma رد شدن؛ ناکام شدن epäonnistua, jättää tekemättä échouer (à) לְהִכָּשֵל @@@לְהִיכָּשֵל$$$ चूकना, असफल होना ne uspjeti, pasti (na ispitu) nem sikerül gagal mistakast; falla fallire, non riuscire 失敗する 실패하다 ko nors nepadaryti, nepavykti ciest neveiksmi; izkrist (eksāmenā); neizdoties [] izdarīt gagal er niet in slagen mislykkes, slå feil, ikke klare nie spełnić, doznać niepowodzenia w não conseguir/falhar, fracassar a nu reuşi терпеть неудачу zlyhať spodleteti ne uspeti misslyckas, få underkänt, missa ล้มเหลว başarısız olmak 失敗 зазнати невдачі; не зробити ناکامیاب ہونا thất bại 失败

2 to break down or cease to work The brakes failed. onklaar raak يَكُف عَن أداء وظيفتهِ развалям се selhat bryde sammen; svigte versagen χαλώ, παύω να λειτουργώ fallar üles ütlema از کار افتادن mennä epäkuntoon tomber en panne לְהִתקַלקֵל असफल pokvariti se, ne raditi elromlik rusak bila guastarsi 故障する 멎다, 고장나다 sugesti bremzes nenostrādāja rosak het begeven svikte, ikke virke/fungere zepsuć się falhar a se strica выйти из строя zlyhať pokvariti se pokvariti se strejka, inte fungera, klicka ไม่ทำงาน bozulmak 停止作用 зламати(ся) خراب ہو جانا، بگڑ جانا hỏng 停止作用

3 to be insufficient or not enough His courage failed (him). in die steek laat يَضعُف، يَهِن не достигам nedostávat se svigte verlassen εξαντλούμαι, είμαι ανεπαρκής fallar, faltar puudu jääma کافی نبودن olla riittämätön manquer (à) לְהַכזִיב समाप्त हो जाना, खत्म हो जाना ponestati, iznevjeriti hiányzik tidak cukup bregðast venire meno ～の役に立たない 쓸모가 없다, 도움을 주지 않다 pritrūkti, neužtekti trūkt; nepietikt tidak cukup ontoereikend zijn svikte, svinne zabraknąć faltar a părăsi не хватать nemať pustiti na cedilu izdati tryta, svika ไม่เพียงพอ yetmemek 不足 не вистачати, бракувати ناکافی ہونا không đủ 不足

4 (in a test, examination etc) to reject (a candidate) The examiner failed half the class. dop, druip يُفْشِل، يُسَقِّط късам nechat propadnout dumpe; lade dumpe; ikke bestå durchfallen (lassen) απορρίπτω κπ. (π.χ. σε εξετάσεις) suspender läbi kukutama رد کردن reputtaa recaler לְהִכָּשֵל उनुत्तीर्ण srušiti (na ispitu) megbuktat menolak fella bocciare 不合格にする 낙제점을 매기다, 불합격시키다 parašyti nepatenkinamą pažymį izgāzt (eksāmenā) menggagalkan laten zakken (la) stryke, dumpe oblać egzamin reprovar a nu promova провалить nechať prepadnúť vreči (na izpitu) oboriti kugga ทำให้ไม่ผ่าน bırakmak 不錄取，不及格 провалюватися ناکام کر دینا đánh trượt 不及格

5 to disappoint They did not fail him in their support. teleurstel يُخَيِّب ، يَخْذُل разочаровам zklamat skuffe im Stich lassen απογοητεύω fallar, decepcionar pettumust valmistama یاری نکردن pettää manquer (à) לְהַכזִיב कमी होना razočarati cserbenhagy mengecewakan bregðast mancare 期待にそむく 실망시키다, 기대를 저버리다 apvilti pievilt mengecewakan in de steek laten svikte, skuffe zawieść desapontar a lăsa подводить sklamať pustiti na cedilu izneveriti svika, lämna i sticket ทำให้ผิดหวัง düş kırıklığına uğratmak 使失望 не виправдати (надій) نا امید کر دینا làm thất vọng 使失望

n ˈfailing

a fault or weakness He may have his failings, but he has always treated his children well. gebrek, swakheid, tekortkoming ضَعْف، عَيْب، نَقْص недостатък chyba, slabost fejl; mangel der Fehler αδυναμία, ελάττωμα defecto, fallo, punto débil puudus, viga نقطه ضعف puute défaut חוּלשָׁה कमजोरी, असफलता mana, slabost gyengeség, hiba kelemahan annmarki, galli, veikleiki difetto 弱点 단점, 결점 trūkumas, silpnybė trūkums; vājība kelemahan tekortkoming feil, skavank, svakhet słabość falta defect недостаток chyba slabost mana fel, brist, svaghet ความผิดพลาดหรือจุดอ่อน kusur, zaaf, zayıflık 缺點 вада; слабкість کمزوری یا عیب nhược điểm 缺点

prep

if (something) fails or is lacking Failing his help, we shall have to try something else. by gebrek van, as dit nie moontlik is nie في حال عَدَم وُجود ако не při nedostatku i mangel af in Ermangelung χωρίς, αν λείψει a falta de (millegi) puudusel در صورت فقدان à défaut de בְּהֶעדֵר के अभाव में zbog, radi vmi nélkül tanpa ef (e-ð) bregst in mancanza di ～がなければ ...이 없이는, ...이 없을 경우에는 nesant, nepavykus gauti neizdošanās gadījumā; iztrūkstot; ja ... tanpa bij gebrek aan i mangel av jeśli zabraknie à falta de în lipsa за неимением bez brez bez i brist på ขาด olmazsa, olmaması hâlinde 如果沒有... за відсутністю کسی چیز کی غیر موجودگی میں nếu (cái gì) không xảy ra 如果没有...

n ˈfailure [-jə]

1 the state or act of failing She was upset by her failure in the exam; failure of the electricity supply. mislukking, onderbreking فَشَل неуспех nezdar; výpadek nederlag; svigt das Versagen αποτυχία, βλάβη fracaso, suspenso, corte ebaõnnestumine, tõrge ناکامی؛ شکست epäonnistuminen, häiriö échec; panne כִּשָלוֹן असफलता pomanjkanje, neuspjeh kudarc, bukás; meghibásodás kegagalan það að e-ð bregst fallimento, insuccesso 失敗 실패 nesėkmė, gedimas neveiksme; neizdošanās; trūkums kegagalan mislukking, storing stryk (til eksamen), fiasko; brudd niepowodzenie, awaria fracasso eşec; pană провал; перебой neúspech; zlyhanie neuspeh; okvara neuspeh misslyckande, strejkande ความล้มเหลว başarısızlık 不及格，不足 відсутність; невдача ناکامیاب ہونے کی صورت tình trạng không thích hợp, không hoạt động như mong đợi 不及格，不足

2 an unsuccessful person or thing He felt he was a failure. mislukking, misoes, nikswerd إنْسان فاشِل провал neúspěšný člověk; fiasko fiasko der Versager αποτυχημένος fracasado hädavares; läbikukkunud asi آدم ناموفق epäonnistunut ihminen raté/-ée כִּשָלוֹן असफल व्यक्ति promašaj, promašen covjek sikertelen ember, ügy; kudarc orang gagal mislukkaður maður fallito 失敗者 실패자 nevykėlis neveiksminieks orang yang gagal mislukkeling, mislukking fiasko nieudacznik fracasso/falhado ratat неудачник;неудача stroskotanec neuspešnež promašen čovek misslyckad person ผู้ล้มเหลวหรือสิ่งที่ล้มเหลว başarısız kimse/şey 失敗者；失敗的事 невдаха ناکامیاب شخص یا شے người, sự thất bại 失败者；失败的事

3 inability, refusal etc to do something his failure to reply. onvermoë, gebrek عَدَم القِيام بِ، رَفْض невъзможност neschopnost, zanedbání manglende evne das Versäumnis παράλειψη, άρνηση incapacidad võimetus ناتوانی؛ قصور kykenemättömyys incapacité אִי-יְכוֹלֶת, אי נְחוֹנוּת असमर्थता, इनकार propust, odbijanje (el)mulasztás penolakan vanræksla; það að láta e-ð ógert incapacità ～しないこと ...하지 못함, 불이행 ko nors nepadarymas nespēja (kaut ko izdarīt) menolak verzium unnlatelse, manglende evne odmowa recusa neputinţă неспособность neschopnosť nezmožnost nesposobnost underlåtenhet, försummelse การขาดความสามารถ ihmal 無能力 неспроможність کسی چیز کو انجام دینے میں نا کامیابی sự thiếu khả năng 无能力

without fail

definitely or certainly I shall do it tomorrow without fail. seker, definitief بِالتأكيد непременно zcela určitě helt sikkert unbedingt οπωσδήποτε sin falta kindlasti حتماً varmasti sans faute בְּלִי נֶדֶר बिना असफलता के sigurno, definitivno feltétlenül pasti örugglega certamente 必ず 틀림없이 tikrai, neabejotinai noteikti pasti zonder mankeren helt sikkert, uten tvil na pewno sem falta negreşit непременно naisto, celkom určite zagotovo bez daljneg absolut, säkert, ofelbart ไม่มีทางล้มเหลว mutlaka, muhakkak 必定 неодмінно, обов'язково یقینی طور پر chắc chắn 必定