fail
[verb]
Synonyms:
- be unsuccessful, bite the dust, break down, come to grief, come unstuck, fall, fizzle out (informal), flop (informal), founder, miscarry, misfire
- disappoint, abandon, desert, forget, forsake, let down, neglect, omit
- give out, conk out (informal), cut out, die, peter out, stop working
- go bankrupt, become insolvent, close down, fold (informal), go broke (informal), go bust (informal), go into receivership, go out of business, go to the wall, go under
[noun]
Synonyms:
- without fail: regularly, conscientiously, constantly, dependably, like clockwork, punctually, religiously, without exception

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Antonyms: succeed
Contrasted words: better, improve, strengthen, appreciate, gain, grow, increase, wax, boom, prosper
Related Idioms: go downhill, hit the skids, be found wanting, come to grief, fall flat (or short), go on the rocks, lay an egg, take the count, be ruined, go bankrupt, go broke, go to the wall, go under, come (or fall) short of
Related Words: jade, sink, slip, waste (away), worsen, dwindle, shrink, wane, decrease, diminish, lessen, give out, run out, short, bankrupt, deplete, drain, exhaust, impoverish, bust out, flunk, spin, gazette, close, end, finish, terminate

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English Thesaurus: fail, go wrong, not work, be unsuccessful, be a failure, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

I. fail¹ S2 W1 /feɪl/ verb
[Word Family: noun: fail, failure, failing; adjective: failed, unfailing; verb: fail; adverb: unfaillingly]
[Date: 1200-1300; Language: Old French; Origin: faillir, from Latin fallere 'to deceive, disappoint']

1. NOT SUCCEED [intransitive] to not succeed in achieving something:
It looks likely that the peace talks will fail.
fail in
He failed in his attempt to regain the world title.
fail to do something
Doctors failed to save the girl’s life.
Millions of people have tried to quit smoking and failed miserably (=been completely unsuccessful).
his efforts to save his failing marriage
If all else fails, you may be advised to have an operation.

2. NOT DO SOMETHING [intransitive] to not do what is expected, needed, or wanted
fail to do something
The letter failed to arrive.
Firms that fail to take advantage of the new technology will go out of business.
The government are failing in their duty to protect people.

REGISTER
Fail to do something is used mainly in writing and in formal contexts. In everyday English, people usually say do not do something instead:
■ The letter failed to arrive. ➔ The letter didn’t arrive.

3. EXAM/TEST
a) [intransitive and transitive] to not pass a test or examination:
I failed my driving test the first time I took it.
He failed maths but passed all his other subjects.
b) [transitive] to decide that someone has not passed a test or examination:
Her work was so bad that I had no choice but to fail her.

4. I fail to see/understand formal used to show that you are annoyed by something that you do not accept or understand:
I fail to see why you find it so amusing.

5. COMPANY/BUSINESS [intransitive] if a company or business fails, it is unable to continue because of a lack of money

6. MACHINE/BODY PART [intransitive] if a part of a machine or an organ in your body fails, it stops working:
The engine failed on take-off.
The hospital said that his kidneys were failing.

7. HEALTH [intransitive] if your sight, memory, health etc is failing, it is gradually getting weaker or is not as good as it was:
Failing eyesight forced him to retire early.

8. never fail to do something to do something or happen so regularly that people expect it:
My grandson never fails to phone me on my birthday.

9. your courage/will/nerve fails (you) if your courage etc fails, or if it fails you, you suddenly do not have it when you need it:
She had to leave immediately, before her courage failed her.

10. fail somebody to not do what someone has trusted you to do Synonym : let somebody down:
I feel I’ve failed my children by not spending more time with them.

11. CROPS [intransitive] if crops fail, they do not grow or produce food, for example because of bad weather

12. RAINS [intransitive] if the rains (=a lot of rain that falls at a particular time each year) fail, they do not come when expected or it does not rain enough
⇒ words fail me at word¹(28)

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

II. fail² noun
[Word Family: noun: fail, failure, failing; adjective: failed, unfailing; verb: fail; adverb: unfaillingly]

1. without fail
a) if you do something without fail, you always do it:
Tim visits his mother every day without fail.
b) used to tell someone very firmly that they must do something:
I want that work finished by tomorrow, without fail!

2. [countable] an unsuccessful result in a test or examination Antonym : pass:
I got a fail in history.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

fail
verb
I. not succeed
ADV. dismally, miserably I tried to cheer her up, but failed miserably.
spectacularly The show didn't just fail, it failed spectacularly.
VERB + FAIL cannot/could not, can/could hardly The song can't fail to be a hit (= will definitely be a hit).
be bound to, be destined to, be doomed to an enterprise that was doomed to fail from the start
PREP. in Doctors are failing in their duty if they do not warn their patients of the dangers.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

fail
II. fail to do sth: not do sth
ADV. totally The authorities have totally failed to address this problem.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

fail
verb
See note at EXAM (exam)/EXAMINATION 2

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Common Errors ▲

fail to not succeed – used about people, plans, methods etc:
The plan failed.
They failed to persuade her to change her mind.
This method never fails.
go wrong if something you do goes wrong, it fails after starting well:
The experiment went wrong when the chemicals combined to form a poisonous gas.
not work if something does not work, it does not do what you want it to do:
The drugs don’t work.
I tried to fix it with glue, but that didn’t work.
be unsuccessful /ˌʌnsəkˈsesfəl◂/ to not have the result you wanted:
His first attempt to get a teaching job was unsuccessful.
The search was unsuccessful.
be a failure to be unsuccessful, with the result that you have wasted your efforts:
The government’s 5-year plan to modernize the economy was a complete failure.
backfire if a plan or action backfires, it does the opposite of what it was intended to do:
His plan to get attention backfired, and instead of being promoted he lost his job.
in vain if you try to do something in vain, you fail to do it:
They tried in vain to save him.
All her efforts had been in vain.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

fail
feɪl
See: without fail

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲