failure
an act that fails
How often you will meet it
Rank 2,673 of 71,295 words measured. It occurs 6,249 times across 175,112 chapters — 0.003% of every word in the library.
What it means
noun
- an act that fails his failure to pass the test
- an event that does not accomplish its intended purpose the surprise party was a complete failure
- lack of success he felt that his entire life had been a failurethat year there was a crop failure
- a person with a record of failing; someone who loses consistently also: loser, nonstarter, unsuccessful person
- an unexpected omission he resented my failure to return his callthe mechanic's failure to check the brakes
- inability to discharge all your debts as they come due also: bankruptcy the company had to declare bankruptcyfraudulent loans led to the failure of many banks
failure in real books
Each sentence below was written by a published author and is taken from a different book in our library. Open one to read the passage it came from, with narration.
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What I mean is, write what the public wants, since you don't relish failure.
The Lure of the Dim Trails · B. M. Bower · Chapter 1
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Just as I was a failure at one thing, he is a success at everything.
The Club of Queer Trades · G. K. (Gilbert Keith) Chesterton · Chapter 1
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The wicked brothers stamped and foamed with rage when they saw the failure of their wicked designs.
The Yellow Fairy Book: The Grateful Beasts · World Traditions (Celtic, Norse, Asian & Persian) · Chapter 1
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My failure never had what Mrs. Stormer would have called the banality of being relative—it was always admirably absolute.
Greville Fane · Henry James · Chapter 1
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His failure, how ever, was more successful than his speech might have been, inasmuch as it excited abundance of merriment.
Windsor Castle · William Harrison Ainsworth · Chapter 1