Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Failure
1.
Cessation of supply, or total defect; a failing; deficiency;
as,
failure
of rain; failure
of crops.2.
Omission; nonperformance;
as, the
. failure
to keep a promise3.
Want of success; the state of having failed.
4.
Decay, or defect from decay; deterioration;
as, the
. failure
of memory or of sight5.
A becoming insolvent; bankruptcy; suspension of payment;
as,
. failure
in business6.
A failing; a slight fault.
[Obs.]
Johnson.
Webster 1828 Edition
Failure
FA'ILURE
,Noun.
1.
A failing; deficience; cessation of supply, or total defect; as the failure of springs or streams; failure of rain; failure of crops.2.
Omission; non-performance; as the failure of a promise; a man's failure in the execution of a trust.3.
Decay, or defect from decay; as the failure of memory or of sight.4.
A breaking, or becoming insolvent. At the close of a war, the prices of commodities fall, and innumerable failures secceed.5.
A failing; a slight fault. [Little used.]Definition 2024
failure
failure
English
Noun
failure (countable and uncountable, plural failures)
- State or condition of not meeting a desirable or intended objective, opposite of success.
- 2012 May 5, Phil McNulty, “Chelsea 2-1 Liverpool”, in BBC Sport:
- For Liverpool, their season will now be regarded as a relative disappointment after failure to add the FA Cup to the Carling Cup and not mounting a challenge to reach the Champions League places.
- 2012 April 23, Angelique Chrisafis, “François Hollande on top but far right scores record result in French election”, in the Guardian:
- Sarkozy's total will be seen as a personal failure. It is the first time an outgoing president has failed to win a first-round vote in the past 50 years and makes it harder for Sarkozy to regain momentum.
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- An object, person or endeavour in a state of failure or incapable of success.
- Termination of the ability of an item to perform its required function, breakdown.
- 2013 June 28, Joris Luyendijk, “Our banks are out of control”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 3, page 21:
- Seeing the British establishment struggle with the financial sector is like watching an alcoholic […]. Until 2008 there was denial over what finance had become. When a series of bank failures made this impossible, there was widespread anger, leading to the public humiliation of symbolic figures.
-
(Can we add an example for this sense?)
Related terms
Synonyms
- (person incapable of success): loser
Antonyms
Translations
state or condition of opposite success
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object or person incapable of success
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termination of the ability of an item to perform its required function
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