249 results for: failure

Dictionary Entries (13 more entries. View all »)

fail·ure

Audio Help [feyl-yer] Pronunciation Key

–noun

1.	an act or instance of failing or proving unsuccessful; lack of success: His effort ended in failure. The campaign was a failure.

2.	nonperformance of something due, required, or expected: a failure to do what one has promised; a failure to appear.

3.	a subnormal quantity or quality; an insufficiency: the failure of crops.

4.	deterioration or decay, esp. of vigor, strength, etc.: The failure of her health made retirement necessary.

5.	a condition of being bankrupt by reason of insolvency.

6.	a becoming insolvent or bankrupt: the failure of a bank.

7.	a person or thing that proves unsuccessful: He is a failure in his career. The cake is a failure.

[Origin: 1635–45; fail + -ure; r. failer a (de)fault < AF (n. use of inf.), for OF faillir

]

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Thesaurus Entries (3 more entries. View all »)

	Roget's II: The New Thesaurus - Cite This Source
Main Entry:	failure
Part of Speech:	noun
Definition:	The condition of not achieving the desired end.
Synonyms:	unsuccess, unsuccessfulness
Source:	Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

	Roget's II: The New Thesaurus - Cite This Source
Main Entry:	failure
Part of Speech:	noun
Definition:	One that fails completely.
Synonyms:	bust, fiasco, loser, washout
Source:	Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

	Roget's II: The New Thesaurus - Cite This Source
Main Entry:	failure
Part of Speech:	noun
Definition:	A cessation of proper mechanical functions.
Synonyms:	breakdown, outage
Source:	Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Encyclopedia Articles (228 more entries. View all »)

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