Synonyms of falls short

falls short

phrase

present tense third-person singular of fall short

1

as in fails

to be unsuccessful

The movie fell short of its viewers' expectations.

Synonyms & Similar Words

• fails
• collapses
• flops
• folds
• falls flat
• struggles
• lays an egg
• misses
• bombs
• strikes out
• comes to grief
• comes up empty
• tanks
• flames out
• comes a cropper
• founders
• falls on one's face
• washes out
• dies on the vine
• flunks
• craters
• declines
• crashes
• goes under
• slips
• skids
• slumps
• crumbles
• flounders
• wanes
• misfires
• miscarries
• sinks
• implodes
• self-destructs

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• goes over
• works out
• goes
• comes off
• succeeds
• delivers
• clicks
• pans out
• cooks
• thrives
• flourishes
• prevails
• prospers
• wins
• triumphs

2

as in falls flat

to go wrong

The biography falls short by neglecting to explore the subject's faults as well as his virtues.

Synonyms & Similar Words

• falls flat
• fails
• comes to grief
• misfires
• stalls
• comes a cropper
• miscarries
• dies
• misses
• struggles
• flops
• founders
• folds
• crashes
• breaks down
• tanks
• flames out
• bombs
• skids
• wanes
• flounders
• slips
• flunks
• washes out
• slumps
• fizzles
• busts
• conks (out)
• declines

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• prevails
• succeeds
• thrives
• flourishes
• prospers

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of falls short

If that effort falls short, senators will move on to conducting the leadership elections themselves. — Kaia Hubbard, CBS News, 10 Nov. 2026

Battery power falls short for long ocean journeys, and alternative fuels have long lacked certified supply chains. — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 3 Nov. 2026

If Anthropic's actual spend falls short, it's required to pay Amazon the difference as a true-up. — Ashley Capoot,jordan Novet,annie Palmer,lora Kolodny,kai Nicol-Schwarz,caleigh Keating, CNBC, 26 Oct. 2026

The company is arranging compensation, while some collectors say their insurance falls short of the cards’ value. — Steve Henson, Los Angeles Times, 20 Oct. 2026

Murray, the urban planner, said transit and affordable housing are two areas in which Wynwood falls short. — Catherine Odom, Miami Herald, 12 Oct. 2026

For every movie that Skydance falls short of, the studio must pay $30 million to health and pension funds, split among the guilds. — Mia Galuppo, HollywoodReporter, 2 Oct. 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

EmpCo, as the directive is also known, falls short of the Green Claims Directive’s full scope. — Jasmin Malik Chua, Footwear News, 25 Sep. 2026