as in reliable
not likely to fail
flowers have been traditionally regarded as the fail-safe gift for Valentine's Day
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in precaution
a measure taken to preclude loss or injury
there are so many fail-safes built into the system that a highly unlikely series of mistakes would have to be made before failure could occur
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of fail-safe
Eero Teerikorpi, Forbes, 11 Mar. 2025
Senate leaders chose to plow ahead with their budget plan even after Mr. Trump endorsed the House’s one-big-bill approach on Wednesday, characterizing their measure as a fail-safe should the House falter.
—Catie Edmondson, New York Times, 21 Feb. 2025
Jeanna Smialek, New York Times, 21 Mar. 2023
Shop Now 10 Navy Blue In areas with strict historic guidelines, navy blue is often a fail-safe.
—Elle Decor Editors, ELLE Decor, 17 Mar. 2023
See All Example Sentences for fail-safe
Adjective
Combining these steps listed above can help to create a fail-safe ecosystem designed for modern software environments.
—Eero Teerikorpi, Forbes, 11 Mar. 2025
Senate leaders chose to plow ahead with their budget plan even after Mr. Trump endorsed the House’s one-big-bill approach on Wednesday, characterizing their measure as a fail-safe should the House falter.
—Catie Edmondson, New York Times, 21 Feb. 2025
Noun
The idea was to make bank oversight both stricter and more fail-safe.
—Jeanna Smialek, New York Times, 21 Mar. 2023
Shop Now 10 Navy Blue In areas with strict historic guidelines, navy blue is often a fail-safe.
—Elle Decor Editors, ELLE Decor, 17 Mar. 2023
See All Example Sentences for fail-safe
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fail-safe
Adjective
-
And huge parts of the city struggle with high unemployment, rampant violent crime and a lack of adequate housing and reliable services.—
Tommy Trenchard,
NPR,
11 May 2025
-
In interviews with the top ad chiefs among the legacy media companies, executives touted sure-fire content and reliable viewership metrics in an effort to demonstrate the importance of advertising during uncertain times.—
Lillian Rizzo,
CNBC,
11 May 2025
Noun
-
Stay cool, drink plenty of fluids, check on relatives and neighbors, and take precautions when working or spending time outside.—
Joe Edwards,
MSNBC Newsweek,
14 May 2025
-
That would explain the complete and utter disregard for the most basic standards, like taking precautions before construction and providing clean water and safe environments.—
Jay Reddick,
The Orlando Sentinel,
13 May 2025
Adjective
-
Beyond the fact that using AI tools to write is generally frowned upon and considered to be unethical, AI writing has become so ubiquitous that using AI or modeling one’s work off of it is a surefire way to make your materials blend into a sea of other cookie-cutter essays.—
Christopher Rim,
Forbes.com,
13 May 2025
-
The ‘naked’ dress — a gown built on the suggestion of exposing its wearer’s nudity — quickly revealed itself as a surefire way for celebrities to grab headlines and has therefore enjoyed full-frontal support from a number of those in show business.—
Leah Dolan,
CNN Money,
12 May 2025
Noun
-
Padlocks, sickles and other objects made of iron, a metal said to possess anti-demonic powers, were stashed in the grave as preventives.—
Franz Lidz,
New York Times,
5 Sep. 2023
-
But although human vaccines function primarily as preventives, offering immunity to animals such as black-footed ferrets can be a conservation strategy of last resort.—
Katherine J. Wu,
The Atlantic,
15 June 2023
Adjective
-
Analyst rating of buy or strong buy: Analysts are not infallible, but their opinions are well-informed.—
Catherine Brock,
Forbes.com,
5 May 2025
-
And these heroes, slightly idealized but by no means infallible versions of the ones who exist in real hospitals, keep showing up, shift after endless shift, to keep pushing that rock up the hill.—
Judy Berman,
Time,
11 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Fail-safe.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fail-safe. Accessed 21 May. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share