Meaning of "fail" in the English dictionary

ETYMOLOGY OF THE WORD FAIL

From Old French faillir, ultimately from Latin fallere to disappoint; probably related to Greek phēlos deceitful.

Etymology is the study of the origin of words and their changes in structure and significance.

PRONUNCIATION OF FAIL

fail  [feɪl]

GRAMMATICAL CATEGORY OF FAIL

Fail is a verb and can also act as a noun.

A noun is a type of word the meaning of which determines reality. Nouns provide the names for all things: people, objects, sensations, feelings, etc.

The verb is the part of the sentence that is conjugated and expresses action and state of being.

See the conjugation of the verb fail in English.

WHAT DOES FAIL MEAN IN ENGLISH?

Failure

Failure is the state or condition of not meeting a desirable or intended objective, and may be viewed as the opposite of success. Product failure ranges from failure to sell the product to fracture of the product, in the worst cases leading to personal injury, the province of forensic engineering.

Definition of fail in the English dictionary

The first definition of fail in the dictionary is to be unsuccessful in an attempt. Other definition of fail is to stop operating or working properly. Fail is also to judge or be judged as being below the officially accepted standard required for success in.

CONJUGATION OF THE VERB TO FAIL

PRESENT

Present

I fail

you fail

he/she/it fails

we fail

you fail

they fail

Present continuous

I am failing

you are failing

he/she/it is failing

we are failing

you are failing

they are failing

Present perfect

I have failed

you have failed

he/she/it has failed

we have failed

you have failed

they have failed

Present perfect continuous

I have been failing

you have been failing

he/she/it has been failing

we have been failing

you have been failing

they have been failing

Present tense is used to refer to circumstances that exist at the present time or over a period that includes the present time. The present perfect refers to past events, although it can be considered to denote primarily the resulting present situation rather than the events themselves.

PAST

Past

I failed

you failed

he/she/it failed

we failed

you failed

they failed

Past continuous

I was failing

you were failing

he/she/it was failing

we were failing

you were failing

they were failing

Past perfect

I had failed

you had failed

he/she/it had failed

we had failed

you had failed

they had failed

Past perfect continuous

I had been failing

you had been failing

he/she/it had been failing

we had been failing

you had been failing

they had been failing

Past tense forms express circumstances existing at some time in the past,

FUTURE

Future

I will fail

you will fail

he/she/it will fail

we will fail

you will fail

they will fail

Future continuous

I will be failing

you will be failing

he/she/it will be failing

we will be failing

you will be failing

they will be failing

Future perfect

I will have failed

you will have failed

he/she/it will have failed

we will have failed

you will have failed

they will have failed

Future perfect continuous

I will have been failing

you will have been failing

he/she/it will have been failing

we will have been failing

you will have been failing

they will have been failing

The future is used to express circumstances that will occur at a later time.

CONDITIONAL

Conditional

I would fail

you would fail

he/she/it would fail

we would fail

you would fail

they would fail

Conditional continuous

I would be failing

you would be failing

he/she/it would be failing

we would be failing

you would be failing

they would be failing

Conditional perfect

I would have fail

you would have fail

he/she/it would have fail

we would have fail

you would have fail

they would have fail

Conditional perfect continuous

I would have been failing

you would have been failing

he/she/it would have been failing

we would have been failing

you would have been failing

they would have been failing

Conditional or "future-in-the-past" tense refers to hypothetical or possible actions.

IMPERATIVE

Imperative

you fail
we let´s fail
you fail

The imperative is used to form commands or requests.

NONFINITE VERB FORMS

Infinitive

to fail

Past participle

failed

Present Participle

failing

Infinitive shows the action beyond temporal perspective. The present participle or gerund shows the action during the session. The past participle shows the action after completion.

SYNONYMS OF «FAIL»

The following words have a similar or identical meaning as «fail» and belong to the same grammatical category.

synonyms of fail

abandon · bite the dust · break down · cease · close down · collapse · come a cropper · come to grief · come unstuck · conk out · crash · cut out · decline · degenerate · desert · deteriorate · die · dim · disappear · disappoint · droop · dwindle · fade · fall · fall by the wayside · fall flat · fall short · fall through · flop · flunk · fold · forget · forsake · founder · give out · give up · go astray · go bust · go by the board · go down · go down like a lead balloon · go phut · go to the wall · go under · go up in smoke · gutter · languish · lay an egg · let down · malfunction · miscarry · misfire · miss · neglect · omit · perish · sag · screw up · sicken · sink · smash · stall · stop · underachieve · underperform · wane · wash out · weaken · wither

TRANSLATION OF FAIL

Find out the translation of fail to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.

The translations of fail from English to other languages presented in this section have been obtained through automatic statistical translation; where the essential translation unit is the word «fail» in English.

• Translator English - Chinese: 失败
• Translator English - Spanish: no + infinitivo
• English: fail
• Translator English - Hindi: असफल
• Translator English - Arabic: يَفْشَلُ
• Translator English - Russian: потерпеть неудачу
• Translator English - Portuguese: falhar
• Translator English - Bengali: ব্যর্থ
• Translator English - French: échouer
• Translator English - Malay: Gagal
• Translator English - German: scheitern
• Translator English - Japanese: 失敗する
• Translator English - Korean: 실패하다
• Translator English - Javanese: Gagal
• Translator English - Vietnamese: thất bại
• Translator English - Tamil: தோல்வியடையும்
• Translator English - Marathi: अपयशी
• Translator English - Turkish: başarısız
• Translator English - Italian: fallire
• Translator English - Polish: zawieść
• Translator English - Ukrainian: зазнавати невдачі
• Translator English - Romanian: a eșua
• Translator English - Greek: αποτυγχάνω
• Translator English - Afrikaans: versuim
• Translator English - Swedish: misslyckas
• Translator English - Norwegian: mislykkes

10 QUOTES WITH «FAIL»

Famous quotes and sentences with the word fail.

1

Owen Arthur

Let us go forward in this battle fortified by conviction that those who labour in the service of a great and good cause will never fail.

2

Robert Baden-Powell

We never fail when we try to do our duty, we always fail when we neglect to do it.

3

Mark Burnett

My mantra is: Realize you're going to fail all the time, and accept it. That doesn't mean I'm not frightened of it.

4

Alonzo Church

The only thing that might have annoyed some mathematicians was the presumption of assuming that maybe the axiom of choice could fail, and that we should look into contrary assumptions.

5

Bram Cohen

Despite my emphasis on technology, I do not view laws as inherently evil. My goals are political ones, even if my techniques are not. The only way to fundamentally succeed is by changing existing laws. If I rejected all help from the political arena I would inevitably fail.

6

Francis Ford Coppola

I think it's better to be overly ambitious and fail than to be underambitious and succeed in a mundane way. I have been very fortunate. I failed upward in my life!

7

Brady Corbet

I'm really bad at tests of any kind, so I'm bad at auditions. I consider myself educated most of the time, but when I'm under the gun, I just fail.

8

Mick Cornett

I believe in infrastructure, I believe in investing in your hard assets. Where I think government starts to fail is when it starts getting itself weighed down with the social programs. And I think the American public just feels like a lot of that money is tossed aside and wasted.

9

Ronnie James Dio

The best subjects are always people, who never fail to amaze me by their unpredictability.

10

Rita Dove

Under adversity, under oppression, the words begin to fail, the easy words begin to fail. In order to convey things accurately, the human being is almost forced to find the most precise words possible, which is a precondition for literature.

10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «FAIL»

Discover the use of fail in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to fail and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.

Epic Fail

But in this hilarious tale of fitting in and flirting, not all snubs are undeserved, not all celebrity brats are bratty, and pride and prejudice can get in the way of true love for only so long.

Claire LaZebnik, 2011

Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty

An award-winning professor of economics at MIT and a Harvard University political scientist and economist evaluate the reasons that some nations are poor while others succeed, outlining provocative perspectives that support theories about ...

Daron Acemoglu, James A. Robinson, 2013

Too Big to Fail: Inside the Battle to Save Wall Street

SHORTLISTED FOR THE BBC SAMUEL JOHNSON PRIZE 2010 They were masters of the financial universe, flying in private jets and raking in billions. They thought they were too big to fail. Yet they would bring the world to its knees.

Andrew Ross Sorkin, 2010

The Innovator's Dilemma: When New Technologies Cause Great ...

Examines how companies can create a balance between marketing cutting-edge technology and anticipating customer demand

Clayton M. Christensen, 1997

Without Fail

A covert group of assassins has the Vice President of the United States in their sights. They've planned well. There's just one thing they didn't plan on: Jack Reacher.

Lee Child, 2008

How Children Fail

Drawing from his experiences as an elementary school teacher, the author discusses ways in which today's schools inhibit the child's personality development and learning potentials

John Caldwell Holt, 1995

The Signal and the Noise: Why So Many Predictions Fail-but ...

This is the “prediction paradox”: The more humility we have about our ability to make predictions, the more successful we can be in planning for the future.

Nate Silver, 2012

Why Boys Fail: Saving Our Sons from an Educational System ...

This is eye-opening reading for parents and educators alike. Richard Whitmire is a former editorial writer for USA Today and president of the National Educational Writers Association.

‎2011

Why CEOs Fail: The 11 Behaviors That Can Derail Your Climb ...

In Why CEOs Fail, David L. Dotlich and Peter C. Cairo describe the most common characteristics of derailed top executives and how you can avoid them: Arrogance—you think that you're right, and everyone else is wrong.

David L. Dotlich, Peter C. Cairo, 2007

Fail Safe

As more countries develop nuclear capabilities and the potential for new enemies lurks on the horizon, Fail-Safe and its powerful issues continue to respond.

Eugene Burdick, Harvey Wheeler, 1999

10 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «FAIL»

Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term fail is used in the context of the following news items.

Congealed Tipp-Ex to odour of gym – Russia's cheese fakers fail the …

Congealed Tipp-Ex to odour of gym – Russia's cheese fakers fail the taste test. Starved of imported cheese thanks to Moscow's counter ... «The Guardian, Jul 15»

Memo to China: Your Market Moves Are Doomed to Fail

In your head, you should suspect it will fail. There's something poignantly human about every attempt to make markets behave as we all wish ... «Wall Street Journal, Jul 15»

When franchises fail: Saying goodbye to 2005's not-so-Fantastic Four

Franchises sometimes fail. 2006's Superman Returns sputtered, which led to the 2013 reboot Man of Steel. 2011's ridiculous Green Lantern ... «The Week Magazine, Jul 15»

Theme Park Fail Video You'll Never Go On Another Ride After …

The smiling faces of this mother and son got wiped away real quick after this near death joy ride when a cable snapped. Luckily for these two ... «TMZ.com, Jul 15»

Jurassic Park's Single Biggest Special Effects Fail

Chances are, you have enjoyed the work of the special effects wizards at Legacy Effects. In fact, if you watched either Jurassic World or ... «Cinema Blend, Jul 15»

Asia's Women Crack Glass Ceiling, But Fail to Break Through

Asia's women are taking one step forward, two steps back when it comes to gender equality. Family structures and entrenched notions of what ... «Bloomberg, Jul 15»

Allow young the freedom to fail, says start-up founder in SCMP debate

"Let's get into a feel-good mentality, give more space and more opportunities and not just calculate how many will fail ... if they feel better, they ... «South China Morning Post, Jul 15»

Al-Hilal fail to lift spectator ban for AFC quarter-final

REUTERS: Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal have failed in their bid to get a spectator banned overturned for the home leg of their AFC Champions ... «Channel News Asia, Jul 15»

Multi-million dollar defender Danilo bagged for juggling fail

How much should a club pay for a defender who can't even juggle? That's the question sceptical Real Madrid fans are asking after $50 million ... «SBS - The World Game, Jul 15»

Watch: 'Hunger Games' stars attempt 'Mockingjay' whistle; fail

The Mockingjay whistle, aka Rue's four-note song, seems like an easy tune to carry, right? Well, not so much for the stars of Hunger Games: ... «USA TODAY, Jul 15»