Home Synonyms fail

Synonyms of fail in English:

fail


See US English definition of fail

See UK English definition of fail

See Spanish definition of fracasar

verb

1‘they could not explain why the enterprise had failed’

SYNONYMS
be unsuccessful, not succeed, lack success, fall through, fall flat, break down, abort, miscarry, be defeated, suffer defeat, be in vain, be frustrated, collapse, founder, misfire, backfire, not come up to scratch, meet with disaster, come to grief, come to nothing, come to naught, miss the mark, run aground, go astray
informal flop, fizzle out, flatline, come a cropper, bite the dust, bomb, blow up in someone's face, go down like a lead balloon
ANTONYMS

succeed

2‘he failed all his examinations’

SYNONYMS
be unsuccessful in, not pass
be found wanting, be found deficient, not make the grade, not pass muster, not come up to scratch, be rejected
informal flunk
ANTONYMS

pass

3‘he felt that his friends had failed him’

SYNONYMS
let down, disappoint, break one's promise to, dash someone's hopes, fall short of someone's expectations
neglect, desert, abandon
betray, be disloyal to, be unfaithful to, break faith with, play someone false
British informal do the dirty on
North American informal bail on
archaic forsake
ANTONYMS

support

4‘the crops failed’

SYNONYMS
be deficient, be wanting, be lacking, fall short, be insufficient, be inadequate
not come to ripeness, wither
ANTONYMS

thrive

5‘they went to bed when the daylight failed’

SYNONYMS
fade, grow less, grow dim, dim, die away, dwindle, wane, disappear, vanish, peter out, dissolve

6‘the ventilation system failed’

SYNONYMS
break down, break, stop working, cease to function, cut out, stop, stall, crash, give out
malfunction, act up, go wrong, develop a fault, be faulty, be defective
informal conk out, go kaput, go phut, give up the ghost, go on the blink, be on the blink
British informal pack up, play up
ANTONYMS

work, be in working order

7‘Ceri's health was failing’

SYNONYMS
deteriorate, degenerate, decline, go into decline, fade, diminish, dwindle, wane, ebb, sink, collapse, decay
ANTONYMS

improve

8‘there are 900 businesses failing a week’

SYNONYMS
collapse, crash, go under, go bankrupt, become insolvent, go into receivership, be in the hands of the receivers, go into liquidation, cease trading, cease production, be closed, be shut down, close down, be wound up
informal fold, flop, go bust, go broke, go bump, go to the wall, go belly up
ANTONYMS

thrive