Synonyms of failure

failure

noun

ˈfāl-yər 

1

as in negligence

the nonperformance of an assigned or expected action

your failure to check the batteries in the smoke detector could have tragic results

Synonyms & Similar Words

• negligence
• neglect
• default
• oversight
• delinquency
• nonfeasance
• carelessness
• misprision
• dereliction
• inadvertence
• laxity
• inadvertency
• heedlessness

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• compliance
• discharge
• fulfillment

2

as in defeat

a falling short of one's goals

the failure of the school's fund-raising drive was a big disappointment to all

Synonyms & Similar Words

• defeat
• collapse
• crash
• setback
• disappointment
• deficiency
• cropper
• futility
• fizzle
• nonachievement
• ineffectiveness
• nonsuccess
• uselessness
• inadequacy
• ineffectuality
• inefficacy
• insufficiency
• ineffectualness
• letdown
• inadequateness
• inefficaciousness

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• success
• achievement
• accomplishment
• victory
• win

3

as in disaster

something that has failed

the students' first attempt to build a homemade rocket was a disappointing failure

Synonyms & Similar Words

• disaster
• catastrophe
• disappointment
• loser
• fiasco
• bust
• miss
• bomb
• debacle
• flop
• washout
• shipwreck
• mess
• frost
• dud
• fizzle
• lemon
• clinker
• clunker
• bummer
• has-been
• turkey
• botch
• dog
• hash
• shambles
• also-ran
• near miss
• nonevent
• nonstarter
• muddle

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• success
• hit
• winner
• blockbuster
• smash
• phenomenon
• crackerjack
• corker
• dandy
• jim-dandy

4

as in shortage

a falling short of an essential or desirable amount or number

the failure of the potato crop had a devastating effect on the population of Ireland

Synonyms & Similar Words

• shortage
• lack
• deficiency
• inadequacy
• deficit
• absence
• insufficiency
• scarcity
• drought
• paucity
• poverty
• famine
• inadequateness
• crunch
• dearth
• omission
• lacuna
• scantiness
• undersupply
• pinch
• scarceness
• want
• necessity
• privation
• need
• meagerness
• poorness
• skimpiness

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• adequacy
• sufficiency
• abundance
• amplitude
• wealth
• plenty
• opulence
• plenitude
• excess
• surplus
• oversupply
• overabundance
• surfeit
• bountifulness
• copiousness

5

as in bankruptcy

the inability to pay one's debts

years of prolonged economic depression, when business failures were common

Synonyms & Similar Words

• bankruptcy
• ruin
• insolvency
• Chapter 11

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of failure

Also unfinished are the high-speed rail and the Delta tunnel, major environmental infrastructure projects that have been seized upon by right-wing media as evidence of Newsom’s failures. — Los Angeles Times, 23 Oct. 2026

Among the criteria are low withdrawal and failure numbers for those students. — Elissa Nadworny, NPR, 23 Oct. 2026

Atchity died Monday of kidney failure at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, his longtime business and producing partner, Chi-Li Wong, told The Hollywood Reporter. — Mike Barnes, HollywoodReporter, 23 Oct. 2026

At its strongest, Crossing the Red Line paints an important portrait of the ghouls who prosecuted the genocide in Gaza, offering an historically crucial record of their conduct and their failures. — Literary Hub, 22 Oct. 2026