Adjacent Words

Fail definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

FAIL, v.i. [L. fallo; Gr. whence; Eng. felony. It seems to be allied to fall, fallow, pale, and many other words.]
1. To become deficient; to be insufficient; to cease to be abundant for supply; or to be entirely wanting. We say, in a dry season, the springs and streams fail, or are failing, before they are entirely exhausted. We say also, the springs failed, when they entirely ceased to flow. Crops fail wholly or partially.
2. To decay; to decline; to sink; to be diminished. We say of a sick person, his strength fails daily.
3. To decline; to decay; to sink; to become weaker; as, the patient fails every hour.
4. To be extinct; to cease; to be entirely wanting; to be no longer produced.
Help, Lord, for the godly man ceaseth; for the faithful fail from among the children of men. Psalms 12.
5. To be entirely exhausted; to be wanting; to cease from supply.
Money failed in the land of Egypt. Genesis 47.
6. To cease; to perish; to be lost.
Lest the remembrance of his grief should fail.
7. To die.
They shall all fail together. Isaiah 31.
8. To decay; to decline; as, the sight fails in old age.
9. To become deficient or wanting; as, the heart or the courage fails.
10. To miss; not to produce the effect. the experiment was made with care, but failed, or failed to produce the effect, or failed of the effect.
11. To be deficient in duty; to omit or neglect. the debtor failed to fulfil his promise.
12. To miss; to miscarry; to be frustrated or disappointed. The enemy attacked the fort, but failed in his design, or failed of success.
13. To be neglected; to fall short; not to be executed. the promises of a man of probity seldom fail.
The soul or the spirit fails, when a person is discouraged. The eyes fail, when the desires and expectations are long delayed, and the person is disappointed.
14. To become insolvent or bankrupt. When merchants and traders fail, they are said to become bankrupt. When other men fail, they are said to become insolvent.
FAIL, v.t.
1. To desert; to disappoint; to cease or to neglect or omit to afford aid, supply or strength. it is said, fortune never fails the brave. Our friends sometimes fail us, when we most need them. The aged attempt to walk, when their limbs fail them. In bold enterprises, courage should never fail the hero.
2. to omit; not to perform.
The inventive God, who never fails his part.
3. to be wanting to.
There shall never fail thee a man on the throne. 1 Kings 2.
[In the transitive use of this verb there is really an ellipsis of from or to, or other word. In strictness, the verb is not transitive, and the passive particple is, I believe, never used.]
FAIL, n. Omission; non-performance.
1. He will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites. Josh 3.
2. Miscarriage; failure; deficience; want; death.
[In these senses little used.]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

v
1: 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" [syn: fail, neglect]
2: be unsuccessful; "Where do today's public schools fail?"; "The attempt to rescue the hostages failed miserably" [syn: fail, go wrong, miscarry] [ant: bring home the bacon, come through, deliver the goods, succeed, win]
3: 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" [syn: fail, betray]
4: 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" [syn: fail, go bad, give way, die, give out, conk out, go, break, break down]
5: be unable; "I fail to understand your motives" [ant: bring off, carry off, manage, negociate, pull off]
6: judge unacceptable; "The teacher failed six students" [ant: pass]
7: fail to get a passing grade; "She studied hard but failed nevertheless"; "Did I fail the test?" [syn: fail, flunk, bomb, flush it] [ant: make it, pass]
8: 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"
9: 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: prove insufficient; "The water supply for the town failed after a long drought" [syn: fail, run out, give out]
11: get worse; "Her health is declining"

Merriam Webster's

I. verb Etymology: Middle English failen, from Anglo-French faillir, from Vulgar Latin *fallire, alteration of Latin fallere to deceive, disappoint Date: 13th century intransitive verb 1. a. to lose strength ; weaken <her health was failing> b. to fade or die away <until our family line fails> c. to stop functioning normally <the patient's heart failed> 2. a. to fall short <failed in his duty> b. to be or become absent or inadequate <the water supply failed> c. to be unsuccessful <the marriage failed>; specifically to be unsuccessful in achieving a passing grade <took the exam and failed> d. to become bankrupt or insolvent transitive verb 1. a. to disappoint the expectations or trust of <her friends failed her> b. to miss performing an expected service or function for <his wit failed him> 2. to be deficient in ; lack <never failed an invincible courage — Douglas MacArthur> 3. to leave undone ; neglect <fail to lock the door> 4. a. to be unsuccessful in passing <failed chemistry> b. to grade (as a student) as not passing • failingly adverb II. noun Date: 13th century 1. failure — usually used in the phrase without fail 2. a failure (as by a security dealer) to deliver or receive securities within a prescribed period after purchase or sale

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v. & n. --v. 1 intr. not succeed (failed in persuading; failed to qualify; tried but failed). 2 a tr. & intr. be unsuccessful in (an examination, test, interview, etc.); be rejected as a candidate. b tr. (of a commodity etc.) not pass (a test of quality). c tr. reject (a candidate etc.); adjudge unsuccessful. 3 intr. be unable to; neglect to; choose not to (I fail to see the reason; he failed to appear). 4 tr. disappoint; let down; not serve when needed. 5 intr. (of supplies, crops, etc.) be or become lacking or insufficient. 6 intr. become weaker; cease functioning; break down (her health is failing; the engine has failed). 7 intr. a (of an enterprise) collapse; come to nothing. b become bankrupt. --n. a failure in an examination or test. Phrases and idioms: fail-safe reverting to a safe condition in the event of a breakdown etc. without fail for certain, whatever happens. Etymology: ME f. OF faillir (v.), fail(l)e (n.) ult. f. L fallere deceive

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Fail Failv. i. [imp. & p. p. Failed; p. pr. & vb. n. Failing.] [F. failir, fr. L. fallere, falsum, to deceive, akin to E. fall. See Fail, and cf. Fallacy, False, Fault.] 1. To be wanting; to fall short; to be or become deficient in any measure or degree up to total absence; to cease to be furnished in the usual or expected manner, or to be altogether cut off from supply; to be lacking; as, streams fail; crops fail. As the waters fail from the sea. --Job xiv. 11. Till Lionel's issue fails, his should not reign. --Shak. 2. 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 be attributed to their size. --Berke. 3. To fall away; to become diminished; to decline; to decay; to sink. When earnestly they seek Such proof, conclude they then begin to fail. --Milton. 4. To deteriorate in respect to vigor, activity, resources, etc.; to become weaker; as, a sick man fails. 5. To perish; to die; -- used of a person. [Obs.] Had the king in his last sickness failed. --Shak. 6. To be found wanting with respect to an action or a duty to be performed, a result to be secured, etc.; to miss; not to fulfill expectation. Take heed now that ye fail not to do this. --Ezra iv. 22. Either my eyesight fails, or thou look'st pale. --Shak. 7. To come short of a result or object aimed at or desired; to be baffled or frusrated. Our envious foe hath failed. --Milton. 8. To err in judgment; to be mistaken. Which ofttimes may succeed, so as perhaps Shall grieve him, if I fail not. --Milton. 9. 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.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Fail Fail, v. t. 1. To be wanting to; to be insufficient for; to disappoint; to desert. There shall not fail thee a man on the throne. --1 Kings ii. 4. 2. To miss of attaining; to lose. [R.] Though that seat of earthly bliss be failed. --Milton.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Fail Fail, n. [OF. faille, from failir. See Fail, v. i.] 1. Miscarriage; failure; deficiency; fault; -- mostly superseded by failure or failing, except in the phrase without fail. ``His highness' fail of issue.'' --Shak. 2. Death; decease. [Obs.] --Shak.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(fails, failing, failed) Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English. 1. If you fail to do something that you were trying to do, you are unable to do it or do not succeed in doing it. The Workers' Party failed to win a single governorship... He failed in his attempt to take control of the company... Many of us have tried to lose weight and failed miserably... The truth is, I'm a failed comedy writer really. ? succeed VERB: V to-inf, V in n, V, V-ed 2. If an activity, attempt, or plan fails, it is not successful. We tried to develop plans for them to get along, which all failed miserably... He was afraid the revolution they had started would fail... After a failed military offensive, all government troops and police were withdrawn from the island. ? succeed VERB: V, V, V-ed 3. If someone or something fails to do a particular thing that they should have done, they do not do it. (FORMAL) Some schools fail to set any homework... The bomb failed to explode. VERB: V to-inf, V to-inf 4. If something fails, it stops working properly, or does not do what it is supposed to do. The lights mysteriously failed, and we stumbled around in complete darkness... In fact many food crops failed because of the drought. VERB: V, V 5. If a business, organization, or system fails, it becomes unable to continue in operation or in existence. (BUSINESS) So far this year, 104 banks have failed. ...a failed hotel business... Who wants to buy a computer from a failing company? VERB: V, V-ed, V-ing 6. If something such as your health or a physical quality is failing, it is becoming gradually weaker or less effective. He was 58, and his health was failing rapidly... An apparently failing memory is damaging for a national leader. VERB: V, V-ing 7. If someone fails you, they do not do what you had expected or trusted them to do. ...communities who feel that the political system has failed them. VERB: V n 8. If someone fails in their duty or fails in their responsibilities, they do not do everything that they have a duty or a responsibility to do. If we did not report what was happening in the country, we would be failing in our duty. VERB: V in n 9. If a quality or ability that you have fails you, or if it fails, it is not good enough in a particular situation to enable you to do what you want to do. For once, the artist's fertile imagination failed him... Their courage failed a few steps short and they came running back. VERB: V n, V 10. If someone fails a test, examination, or course, they perform badly in it and do not reach the standard that is required. I lived in fear of failing my end-of-term exams. ? pass VERB: V n • Fail is also a noun. It's the difference between a pass and a fail. N-COUNT 11. If someone fails you in a test, examination, or course, they judge that you have not reached a high enough standard in it. ...the two men who had failed him during his first year of law school. ? pass VERB: V n 12. You say if all else fails to suggest what could be done in a certain situation if all the other things you have tried are unsuccessful. If all else fails, I could always drive a truck. PHRASE: PHR with cl 13. You use without fail to emphasize that something always happens. He attended every meeting without fail. PHRASE: PHR with cl [emphasis] 14. You use without fail to emphasize an order or a promise. On the 30th you must without fail hand in some money for Alex... PHRASE: PHR with cl [emphasis]

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

fal (kalah, karath; ekleipo): "Fail" is both intransitive, "to fall short," "be wanting," and trans, "to be wanting to."

Of the many words translated "fail" in the Old Testament, kalah is the most frequent, meaning "to be consumed," "ended" (Job 11:20; 17:5; Ps 69:3; 71:9, etc.; Pr 22:8; Isa 15:6, etc.; Jer 14:6; La 2:11; 3:22; 4:17); it is the translation of karath, "to be cut off" (2Sa 3:29, of failure in succession; so 1Ki 2:4, etc.); `adhar, "to marshal," "to be missed" or "lacking" (Isa 34:16 the King James Version; Isa 40:26 the King James Version; Isa 59:15 the King James Version; Ze 3:5); of raphah, "to become faint" or "to make feeble" (De 31:6,8; "I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee," Jos 1:5; 1Ch 28:20); of '-abhadh, "to perish," "be lost" (Ps 142:4, "Refuge hath failed me"; Eze 12:22, "Every vision faileth"). Many other Hebrew words are translated "fail," "faileth," for the most part in single instances.

In the New Testament, ekleipo, "to leave out" or "off," is thrice rendered "fail" (Lu 16:9 "when it shall fail"; Lu 22:32, "that thy faith fail not"; Heb 1:12, "Thy years shall not fail"); ekpipto, "to fall off or away" (1Co 13:8, "Charity (the Revised Version (British and American) "love") never faileth"); katargeo, "to make useless" (1Co 13:8 the King James Version, "Whether prophecies, they shall fail"); hustereo, "to be behind," "to lack" (Heb 12:15 the King James Version); apopsucho, "to swoon away," "failing" (Lu 21:26 the King James Version).

The Revised Version (British and American) has "fail," in a new translation of Jer 18:14, for "fall" (La 1:14, margin "stumble"); "his hand fail" for "fallen in decay" (Le 25:35); "I will in no wise fail thee" for "I will never leave thee" (Heb 13:5; compare De 31:6; Jos 1:5); "failed to enter" for "entered not" (Heb 4:6); "faileth" (American Standard Revised Version) for "ceaseth" (Ps 49:8), the English Revised Version "must be let alone for ever"; "failing" for "was darkened" (Lu 23:45); for "fail" (Ezr 4:22), "be slack," "be missing" (Isa 34:16); "falleth short of" (Heb 12:15, maqrgin, "falleth bacf from"); for "failed," "was all spent" (Ge 47:15); "wholly" (Jos 3:16); "fail (in looking)" (La 4:17); for "faileth," "is lacking" (Isa 40:26; 59:15); for "men's hearts failing them" (Lu 21:26), "men fainting," margin "expiring."

W. L. Walker

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. v. n. 1. Fall short, come short, be insufficient, be deficient, be wanting. 2. Decline, sink, decay, wane, fade, break, give out. 3. Cease, disappear, become extinct, be wanting. 4. Miss, miscarry, be unsuccessful, be frustrated, end in smoke, come to nothing, fall stillborn, flash in the pan, miss fire, miss stays, fall to the ground. 5. Omit, neglect. 6. Break, become insolvent, become bankrupt, suspend payment. II. v. a. Disappoint, be wanting to, not be sufficient for, not answer the expectation of. III. n. [Used only in the expression Without fail.] Omission, neglect, failure, delinquency.

Moby Thesaurus

abandon, abort, age, bankrupt, be a gas, be a hit, be caught napping, be found wanting, be inferior, be insufficient, be neglectful, be negligent, be ruined, be unfaithful, be unsuccessful, become insolvent, bill, bomb, break, break faith, bust, cave in, cheat the undertaker, close down, close up, collapse, come apart, come short, come to grief, come unstuck, conk out, crash, crumble, decay, decline, decrease, default, deplete, desert, deteriorate, die, diminish, disappear, disappoint, disintegrate, disregard, dodder, drain, dramatize, droop, drop, dwindle, ebb, exhaust, fade, fail of, fail of success, faint, fall, fall away, fall flat, fall off, fall short, fall shy, fall through, falter, feature, fizzle out, flag, flop, flunk, flunk out, fold, fold up, follow, forsake, founder, get along, get on, give out, give way, gloss over, go back on, go bankrupt, go broke, go down, go downhill, go into receivership, go off, go out, go soft, go to pieces, go to pot, go to ruin, go under, go up, go wrong, grow old, gutter, have nothing on, headline, hit a slump, hit rock bottom, hit the skids, ignore, impoverish, jade, kick the beam, labor in vain, lack, lag, languish, lapse, leave undone, lessen, let down, let go, let ride, let slide, let slip, lose, lose ground, lose sight of, lose strength, lose track of, make a hit, melodramatize, miscarry, misfire, miss, mount, neglect, nod, not answer, not approach, not care for, not come near, not come off, not compare, not get involved, not hack it, not heed, not make it, not make out, not measure up, not pass, not qualify, not stretch, not suffice, not think, not work, open, open a show, overlook, pass over, pass the buck, peak, peg out, peter out, pine, play second fiddle, poop out, premiere, present, preview, produce, put on, rank under, reach the depths, run aground, run down, run out, run short, scenarize, serve, set the stage, shake, shift the blame, shift the responsibility, short, shrink, shrivel, shut down, sink, sleep, slide, slight, slip, slump, spin, stage, star, stop short, subserve, subside, succeed, take for granted, theatricalize, totter, touch bottom, try out, turn gray, turn white, wane, want, wash out, waste, waste away, weaken, wear away, wear thin, wilt, wither, wither away, wizen, worsen, wrinkle, yield