Synonyms for failure
ˈfeɪl yərfail·ure

WiktionaryRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. failurenoun

   State or condition of not meeting a desirable or intended objective, opposite of success.

   Antonyms:
   triumph, success

2. failurenoun

   Synonyms:
   loser

English Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. failure

   Misfortune is adverse fortune or any instance thereof, any untoward event, usually of lingering character or consequences, and such as the sufferer is not deemed directly responsible for; as, he had the misfortune to be born blind. Any considerable disappointment, failure, or misfortune, as regards outward circumstances, as loss of fortune, position, and the like, when long continued or attended with enduring consequences, constitutes adversity. For the loss of friends by death we commonly use affliction or bereavement. Calamity and disaster are used of sudden and severe misfortunes, often overwhelming; ill fortune and ill luck, of lighter troubles and failures. We speak of the misery of the poor, the hardships of the soldier. Affliction, chastening, trial, and tribulation have all an especially religious bearing, suggesting some disciplinary purpose of God with beneficent design. Affliction may be keen and bitter, but brief; tribulation is long and wearing. We speak of an affliction, but rarely of a tribulation, since tribulation is viewed as a continuous process, which may endure for years or for a lifetime; but we speak of our daily trials. Compare CATASTROPHE.

   Synonyms:
   adversity, affliction, bereavement, blow, calamity, chastening, chastisement, disappointment, disaster, distress, hardship, harm, ill, ill fortune, ill luck, misadventure, mischance, misery, misfortune, mishap, reverse, ruin, sorrow, stroke, trial, tribulation, trouble, visitation

   Antonyms:
   blessing, boon, comfort, consolation, good fortune, good luck, gratification, happiness, joy, pleasure, prosperity, relief, success, triumph

Princeton's WordNetRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. failurenoun

   an act that fails

   "his failure to pass the test"

   Synonyms:
   bankruptcy, loser, nonstarter, unsuccessful person

   Antonyms:
   success

2. failurenoun

   an event that does not accomplish its intended purpose

   "the surprise party was a complete failure"

   Synonyms:
   bankruptcy, loser, nonstarter, unsuccessful person

   Antonyms:
   success

3. failurenoun

   lack of success

   "he felt that his entire life had been a failure"; "that year there was a crop failure"

   Synonyms:
   bankruptcy, loser, nonstarter, unsuccessful person

   Antonyms:
   success

4. failure, loser, nonstarter, unsuccessful personnoun

   a person with a record of failing; someone who loses consistently

   Synonyms:
   bankruptcy, loser, nonstarter, also-ran, unsuccessful person

   Antonyms:
   success

5. failurenoun

   an unexpected omission

   "he resented my failure to return his call"; "the mechanic's failure to check the brakes"

   Synonyms:
   bankruptcy, loser, nonstarter, unsuccessful person

   Antonyms:
   success

6. bankruptcy, failurenoun

   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"

   Synonyms:
   bankruptcy, loser, nonstarter, unsuccessful person

   Antonyms:
   success

7. failurenoun

   loss of ability to function normally

   "kidney failure"

   Synonyms:
   bankruptcy, loser, nonstarter, unsuccessful person

   Antonyms:
   success

Matched Categories

1. • Disorder
   • Fortune
   • Happening
   • Insolvency
   • Nonaccomplishment
   • Omission

Editors ContributionRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. distruption

   Submitted by anonymous on February 2, 2021  

Dictionary of English SynonymesRate these synonyms:1.0 / 1 vote

1. failurenoun

   Synonyms:
   deficiency, defectiveness, shortcoming

2. failurenoun

   Synonyms:
   omission, neglect, FAIL, non-performance, non-observance

3. failurenoun

   Synonyms:
   miscarriage, botch, ill success, flash in the pan, labor for one's pains, losing game, wild-goose chase, sleeveless errand

4. failurenoun

   Synonyms:
   insolvency, bankruptcy, suspension of payment

5. failurenoun

   Synonyms:
   decay, decline, declension, loss

Synonyms, Antonyms & Associated WordsRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. failurenoun

   Synonyms:
   failing, deficiency, shortcoming, lack, omission, pretermission, default, nonperformance, neglect, dereliction nonfulfillment, nonobservance, nonsuccess, miscarriage, frustration, abortion, foil, fizzle, fiasco, deterioration, decline, declension, retrogression, bankruptcy, insolvency

PPDB, the paraphrase databaseRate these paraphrases:0.0 / 0 votes

1. List of paraphrases for "failure":

   inability, omission, fiasco, failed, incapacity, lack, breakdown, malfunction, rupture, error, fails, fault, absence, default, fail, defect, failing, collapse, defeat, non-compliance, bankruptcy, flop, judgement, breach, refusal, impossibility, setback, chess, disability, flaw, insufficiency, judgment, deficiency, breakage, breakup, inadequacy, non-performance, falla, failures

Suggested Resources

1. failure

   Song lyrics by failure -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by failure on the Lyrics.com website.

How to pronounce failure?

How to say failure in sign language?

Usage in printed sourcesFrom: 

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Words popularity by usage frequency

How to use failure in a sentence?

1. Gavin Belson:

   What those in dying business sectors call failure, we in tech know to be pre-greatness.

2. Vice President Joe Biden:

   The United States condemns these acts and condemns the failure to condemn these acts.

3. Elbert Hubbard:

   Optimism is a kind of heart stimulant--the digitalis of failure.

4. R. F Knight:

   All money systems not backed by actual resources has failed in the past, if we keep eating the same food and making the same political choices as we have always done, we are also doomed to inherit a legacy of failure and misfortune".

5. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx:

   Takata has not fully cooperated with the investigation, safety is a shared responsibility and Takata’s failure to fully cooperate with our investigation is unacceptable and will not be tolerated.