fail
pronunciation
How to pronounce fail in British English:
UK [feɪl]
How to pronounce fail in American English:
US [feɪl]
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- Verb:
- fail to do something; leave something undone
- be unsuccessful
- disappoint, prove undependable to; abandon, forsake
- stop operating or functioning
- be unable
- judge unacceptable
- fail to get a passing grade
- fall short in what is expected
- become bankrupt or insolvent; fail financially and close
- prove insufficient
- get worse
Word Origin
- fail
- fail: [13] Fail, fallacy [15], fallible, false, and fault all come ultimately from the same source – the Latin verb fallere. This originally meant ‘deceive’, but it developed semantically to ‘deceive someone’s hopes, disappoint someone’, and in its Vulgar Latin descendant *fallīre this meaning had progressed to ‘be defective, fail’. English acquired the word via Old French faillir. Its Anglo-Norman form, failer, came to be used as a noun, and is the source of English failure [17].=> faliacy, fallible, false, fault
- fail (v.)
- c. 1200, "be unsuccessful in accomplishing a purpose;" also "cease to exist or to function, come to an end;" early 13c. as "fail in expectation or performance," from Old French falir "be lacking, miss, not succeed; run out, come to an end; err, make a mistake; be dying; let down, disappoint" (11c., Modern French faillir), from Vulgar Latin *fallire, from Latin fallere "to trip, cause to fall;" figuratively "to deceive, trick, dupe, cheat, elude; fail, be lacking or defective." Related: Failed; failing. Replaced Old English abreoðan. From c. 1200 as "be unsuccessful in accomplishing a purpose;" also "cease to exist or to function, come to an end;" early 13c. as "fail in expectation or performance." From mid-13c. of food, goods, etc., "to run short in supply, be used up;" from c. 1300 of crops, seeds, land. From c. 1300 of strength, spirits, courage, etc., "suffer loss of vigor; grow feeble;" from mid-14c. of persons. From late 14c. of material objects, "break down, go to pieces."
- fail (n.)
- late 13c., "failure, deficiency" (as in without fail), from Old French faile "deficiency," from falir (see fail (v.)). The Anglo-French form of the verb, failer, also came to be used as a noun, hence failure.
Antonym
Example
- 1. The vast majority invariably fail .
- 2. Universal banking need not fail .
- 3. Fail so you can succeed .
- 4. That is why you fail .
- 5. Multilateral efforts might fail again .