Fail
verbVerb
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”
Similar:BetrayType of:Disappointbe unsuccessful
“Where do today's public schools fail?”
“The attempt to rescue the hostages failed miserably”
Similar:Miscarryfail 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”
Similar:Neglectstop operating or functioning
“The engine failed on the way to town”
fail to get a passing grade
“She studied hard but failed nevertheless”
“Did I fail the test?”
prove insufficient
“The water supply for the town failed after a long drought”
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”
judge unacceptable
“The teacher failed six students”
Type of:EvaluateJudgeget worse
Type of:DeclineWorsen
Other
be unable
“I fail to understand your motives”
become bankrupt or insolvent; fail financially and close
“A number of banks failed that year”
Dictionary Validity
- Tournament Word List (TWL)
- Scrabble US
- Collins Scrabble Words (CSW21)
- Scrabble UK
- ENABLE Dictionary
- Words With Friends
- Combined US/UK Scrabble Dictionary
- SOWPODS
- North American Scrabble (NWL2020)
- NASPA