noun
1 lack of success
ADJECTIVE
▪ complete , total
▪ abject , humiliating
▪
The attempt ended in abject ~.
▪ inevitable
▪ costly
▪ alleged , apparent , perceived
▪ relative
▪ initial
▪
Initial ~ was followed by unexpected, if modest, success.
▪ ultimate
▪
War is the ultimate ~ of public communication.
▪ personal
▪ moral
▪ academic
▪ economic , financial
▪ military
VERB + FAILURE
▪ be doomed to , end in , result in
▪
All her efforts were doomed to ~.
▪ admit , tolerate
▪
He was too proud to admit ~.
▪
I will not tolerate ~.
▪ lament
▪
He lamented his ~ to formulate a satisfactory theory.
▪ explain
▪ attribute , blame
▪
He attributes the ~ of the project to lack of government support.
▪
I blame the ~ of our relationship on my husband.
▪ expect
▪
Children who are doing badly tend to expect ~ and criticism.
▪ fear
▪ avoid
FAILURE + NOUN
▪ rate
▪
There is a high ~ rate with this treatment.
PHRASES
▪ fear of ~
▪
Fear of ~ should not deter you from trying.
▪ a history of ~
▪
John had a long history of academic ~.
▪ a possibility of ~ , a risk of ~
▪ a sense of ~
2 unsuccessful person/thing
ADJECTIVE
▪ big , great , serious
▪ complete , total , utter
▪ catastrophic , disastrous
▪ abject , conspicuous , dismal , humiliating , lamentable ( esp. BrE ), miserable
▪ costly
▪ heroic ( BrE )
▪
If she could not succeed, she would at least be a heroic ~.
▪ alleged , apparent , perceived
▪ relative
▪ past
▪
to learn from past ~s
▪ rare ( esp. BrE )
▪
The movie was one of the rare ~s in his career.
▪ unexpected
▪ personal
▪ collective
▪ moral
▪ academic
▪ economic , financial
▪
economic ~ and increasing unemployment
▪ military
VERB + FAILURE
▪ be , represent
▪ prove
▪
The venture proved a costly ~.
▪ experience , have
▪ feel ( BrE ), feel like ( esp. AmE )
▪
I felt (like) a complete ~.
▪ consider sb/sth , regard sb/sth as
▪ brand sb/sth ( esp. BrE )
▪
Her parents had long since branded her a ~.
FAILURE + VERB
▪ arise from sth
▪
~s arising from circumstances beyond your control
PREPOSITION
▪ ~ of
▪
The decision to withdraw funding represents a ~ of imagination.
3 not doing sth
ADJECTIVE
▪ fundamental
▪ general
▪ manifest
▪ consistent , constant , continued , continuing , persistent , repeated
▪ government , management
▪
government ~ to listen to the voice of the electorate
VERB + FAILURE
▪ excuse , justify
▪
Nothing can excuse your ~ to ask my permission.
▪ constitute
▪
This breach constitutes a serious ~ in performance.
4 of a machine, system, part of the body, etc.
ADJECTIVE
▪ mechanical , structural , technical
▪ battery , brake , component , computer , engine , equipment , power , system
▪ hardware , software ( both computing )
▪ bank , business , commercial , company , corporate , institutional , market
▪
Business ~s rose by 30% in 2001.
▪ heart , kidney , liver , organ
▪
the commonest cause of acute liver ~
▪ cardiac , hepatic , renal , respiratory ( all medical )
▪
patients with chronic renal ~
▪ crop , harvest
▪ communication
▪ intelligence , policy
VERB + FAILURE
▪ cause , lead to , result in
▪
a rare viral infection that can lead to heart ~
▪ experience , suffer
▪
The aircraft seems to have experienced an engine ~.
▪ prevent
FAILURE + VERB
▪ occur
▪
A power ~ occurred between 4 and 5 p.m.
PREPOSITION
▪ ~ in
▪
a ~ in the computer system