Failure — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

an act that fails

an event that does not accomplish its intended purpose

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/fˈeɪlɪɹ/

🇬🇧British English

/fˈeɪliə/

🇮🇳Indian English

/fˈeɪliə/

2 syllables Say it as /fˈeɪlɪɹ/.

Examples

his failure to pass the test
the surprise party was a complete failure
he felt that his entire life had been a failure

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

loser nonstarter unsuccessful person bankruptcy

Antonyms

success achiever

Parts of Speech

noun	an act that fails “his failure to pass the test”
noun	an event that does not accomplish its intended purpose “the surprise party was a complete failure”
noun	lack of success “he felt that his entire life had been a failure”
noun	a person with a record of failing; someone who loses consistently
noun	an unexpected omission “he resented my failure to return his call”
noun	inability to discharge all your debts as they come due “the company had to declare bankruptcy”
noun	loss of ability to function normally “kidney failure”

Word Forms

fail	verb	be unsuccessful
lose	verb	fail to win
bankrupt	verb	reduce to bankruptcy

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

Versagen

eine Tat, die scheitert

🇫🇷French

échec

un acte qui échoue

🇪🇸Spanish

falla

un acto que falla

🇮🇹Italian

fallimento

un atto che fallisce

🇳🇱Dutch

mislukking

een daad die mislukt

🇵🇹Portuguese

falha

um ato que falha

🇷🇺Russian

отказ

поступок, который провалился

India

🇮🇳Hindi

असफलता

एक कार्य जो विफल हो जाता है

🇧🇩Bengali

ব্যর্থতা

একটি কাজ যা ব্যর্থ হয়

🇮🇳Tamil

தோல்வி

தோல்வியுற்ற ஒரு செயல்

🇮🇳Telugu

వైఫల్యం

విఫలమయ్యే చర్య

🇮🇳Marathi

अपयश

अयशस्वी होणारी कृती

🇮🇳Gujarati

નિષ્ફળતા

એક કાર્ય જે નિષ્ફળ જાય છે

🇮🇳Kannada

ವೈಫಲ್ಯ

ವಿಫಲವಾದ ಕ್ರಿಯೆ

🇮🇳Malayalam

പരാജയം

പരാജയപ്പെടുന്ന ഒരു പ്രവൃത്തി

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਅਸਫਲਤਾ

ਇੱਕ ਕੰਮ ਜੋ ਅਸਫਲ ਹੁੰਦਾ ਹੈ

🇵🇰Urdu

ناکامی

ایک ایسا عمل جو ناکام ہو جاتا ہے۔

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

失败

失败的行为

🇯🇵Japanese

失敗

失敗する行為

🇰🇷Korean

실패

실패하는 행위

🇻🇳Vietnamese

sự thất bại

một hành động thất bại

🇹🇭Thai

ความล้มเหลว

การกระทำที่ล้มเหลว

🇮🇩Indonesian

kegagalan

suatu tindakan yang gagal

🇵🇭Filipino

kabiguan

isang kilos na nabigo

🇲🇾Malay

kegagalan

perbuatan yang gagal

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

فشل

الفعل الذي يفشل

🇮🇷Persian

شکست

عملی که شکست می خورد

🇹🇷Turkish

arıza

başarısız olan bir eylem

🇮🇱Hebrew

כֶּשֶׁל

מעשה שנכשל

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'failure'?

The primary meaning of 'failure' is 'an act that fails'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'failure' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'failure' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'failure' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'failure' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

How often do you encounter the word 'failure' in your daily reading?

Very Often

Occasionally

Rarely

Never

Do you find 'failure' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

Somewhat easy

A bit confusing

Extremely hard

In your opinion, does the word 'failure' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

Positive

Neutral

Gloomy

Vibrant

Which age group is most likely to use 'failure' in regular conversations?

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

How likely are you to use 'failure' in a professional email?

Very likely

Somewhat likely

Not very likely

Never

Would you classify 'failure' as formal, casual, or slang?

Formal

Casual

Slang

Archaic

Pick an option to see how others voted