FALL ON ONE'S FACE Synonyms: 50 Similar and Opposite Words

fall on one's face

phrase

as in collapse

to be unsuccessful Remembering how she fell on her face giving the speech the first time spurred her to practice it till she had it down.

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Recent Examples of Synonyms for fall on one's face

Phrase

Under the terms of its settlement agreement, if Paramount falls short of its annual quotas, it’ll be fined $30 million per film, 90% of which will be paid out to film workers and 10% to the National Association of Attorneys General.

— Sarah Whitten, CNBC, 25 Sep. 2026
When performance falls short, our instinct is often to add more training, information, oversight, processes or competency development.

— Dr Natalie Callis, Forbes.com, 25 Sep. 2026

Definition of fall short

Phrase

But the fantasy-death quiz falls flat and feels more like a second defeat than a comedy tag.

— Tasha Robinson, Vulture, 22 Sep. 2026
Instead, the administration has proposed cutting more than 9,400 of my fellow workers and launched a new effort to privatize TSA — Horizon 25 — after the TSA Gold+ privatization campaign fell flat.

— Hydrick Thomas, New York Daily News, 11 Sep. 2026

Definition of fall flat

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.

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falloffs

fall on one's face

fall out

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“Fall on one's face.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fall%20on%20one%27s%20face. Accessed 26 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of fall on one's face

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