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
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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
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Lightweight, quick-drying, and trail-tough, these pants have been a reliable companion for hiking and travel.—
Michael Cappetta,
Travel + Leisure,
4 June 2025
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Its toll is seen as generally reliable by U.N. agencies and independent experts, though Israel has challenged its numbers.—
Wafaa Shurafa,
Los Angeles Times,
4 June 2025
Noun
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As a precaution, flights at Moscow airports were temporarily suspended overnight Thursday into Friday and then again late Friday afternoon.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
7 June 2025
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There was also a 2-mile oil sheen spotted in March 2024 off Huntington Beach, with the health care agency issuing precautions to beachgoers.—
Laylan Connelly,
Oc Register,
6 June 2025
Adjective
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These attempts weren’t surefire ways to receive water, however.—
Andrew Paul,
Popular Science,
4 June 2025
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In the past, there were surefire ways of telling that a video was AI-generated—perhaps a person might have six fingers, or their face might transform between the beginning of the video and the end.—
Andrew R. Chow,
Time,
3 June 2025
Noun
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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
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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
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While some think this specialized warrant is a new opportunity for justice, legal experts argue that DNA is not infallible — and this practice has the potential to violate the rights of suspects.—
Taylor Romine,
CNN Money,
28 May 2025
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In short: vibe coding is powerful, but not infallible.—
Josipa Majic Predin,
Forbes.com,
18 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Fail-safe.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fail-safe. Accessed 11 Jun. 2025.
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