ˈfālyə(r) noun
( -s )
Etymology: alteration (influenced by -ure ) of earlier failer, from Anglo-French failer, from Old French faillir to fail — more at fail
1.
a. : omission of performance of an action or task ; especially : neglect of an assigned, expected, or appropriate action
the mechanic's failure to adjust the brake
the failure of students to write complete sentences
the scout's failure to rejoin the party
b. : the fact of a certain action or process not having occurred : the fact of nonoccurrence
failure of the water to pass through the pipe
the failure of the drug to have a harmful effect
2. : want of success : lack of satisfactory performance or effect
the failure of the attack on the fort
the failure of the candidate in the election
3. obsolete : failing , lapse
4.
a. : deficiency , lack : the fact of being cumulatively inadequate or not matching hopes or expectations
the crop failures brought on near famine
b. : absence , nonexistence
through failure of heirs, most of the state societies had disintegrated — A.F.Harlow
c. : marked weakening : the fact of becoming exhausted or enfeebled : deterioration
any impairment or failure of his bodily vigor through sickness or age — J.C.Frazer
d. medicine : inability to perform a vital function
heart failure
e. : a collapsing, fracturing, or giving way under stress : inability of a material or structure to fulfill an intended purpose
5.
a. : bankruptcy
the failure of the company
the failure of a friend whose note he had endorsed
b. : a venture financially unsuccessful
although a contribution to literature, the play was a box-office failure
6. : a person or thing that has failed
people who were either failures or had had no ambitions — Louis Bromfield
the war against the confederation was a failure
7.
a. : the fact of failing in a test or course
b. : a failing grade
c. : a student who has failed
Synonyms:
neglect , default , miscarriage , dereliction : failure implies a lack or absence of something expected especially in performance or achievement
the failure of the courts in the past to formulate any principle for drawing a boundary line around the right of free speech — Zechariah Chafee
the ailing civilization pays the penalty for its failure of vitality by becoming disintegrated — A.J.Toynbee
nutritional failure due to inadequate intake of proteins and vitamins — Journal American Medical Association
neglect implies carelessness or inattentiveness resulting in incompleteness or inadequacy of performance or achievement
any neglect to take into consideration the relations of the social framework can only lead to a defective understanding — M.F.A.Montagu
so intent on taking care of the physical mechanics of getting things done, their creative and imaginative faculties suffer from neglect — Phoenix Flame
driven to extreme bitterness by public neglect of his work — American Guide Series: New York
default , now chiefly in legal context, implies a failure to perform something required, usually by total omission of any action at all
some of our decisions … are arrived at by default — that is, by “letting things go” — W.J.Reilly
betraying by default the privileges of citizenship in a democratic society — Vera M. Dean
in some default of faith too base for words — William Alfred
miscarriage is often used when one cannot assign or wishes to avoid assigning specific blame for a failure
it seems to me a miscarriage of the artist's job if his reputation does his work for him — William Arrowsmith
we fear … some miscarriage in the details of our plan — J.W.Krutch
a miscarriage of justice
dereliction is extremely strong in signifying or implying a neglect or nonobservance amounting to a reprehensible abandonment of a morally compelling duty, law, or principle
there is a moral dereliction in failure by any member of a profession to apply in professional practice the standards which, by consensus of opinion in the profession, are necessary — Journal American Medical Association
every good reporter knows that his friendship for a news source must never extend so far as disregard of official dereliction or incompetence — F.L.Mott
a manager who fails to throw out hour-old coffee and replace it with fresh coffee is warned not to repeat his dereliction — Jack Alexander