Englishfail
verb
1 they could not explain why the enterprise had failed:
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:
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:
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:
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:
fade, grow less, grow dim, dim, die away, dwindle, wane, disappear, vanish, peter out, dissolve.
6 the ventilation system failed:
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:
deteriorate, degenerate, decline, go into decline, fade, diminish, dwindle, wane, ebb, sink, collapse, decay.
▷antonyms improve.
8 there are 900 businesses failing a week:
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.