1
as in weakness
a defect in character
the common fault of being quick to judge others
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in mistake
an unintentional departure from truth or accuracy
there's a fault somewhere in the program
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in blame
responsibility for wrongdoing or failure
getting the time of the performance wrong was entirely my fault
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in defect
something that spoils the appearance or completeness of a thing
the minor faults in the leather are entirely natural and are what gives it a look different from vinyl
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
5
as in responsibility
the state of being held as the cause of something that needs to be set right
the investigator determined that the auto accident was entirely the other driver's fault
Synonyms & Similar Words
as in to blame
to express one's unfavorable opinion of the worth or quality of
you should look at your own work before faulting what others have done
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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 fault
Laura Schulte, jsonline.com, 4 Nov. 2025
Hanley had acknowledged her faults in previous hearings, 7News reports.
—Kc Baker, PEOPLE, 4 Nov. 2025
Paul Dehner Jr, New York Times, 3 Nov. 2025
Whetstone and Selph faulted the hospitals’ staffing and billing systems with prioritizing speed over accurate care.
—Ciara McCarthy 30, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 30 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for fault
Noun
Van Orden's visit to the Salvation Army center comes after Democrats last week visited food pantries in Madison and Milwaukee to raise awareness of how the shutdown and to paint Republicans as at fault.
—Laura Schulte, jsonline.com, 4 Nov. 2025
Hanley had acknowledged her faults in previous hearings, 7News reports.
—Kc Baker, PEOPLE, 4 Nov. 2025
Verb
Nobody would fault a single offensive player for saying out loud what Brown did, and everyone is thinking.
—Paul Dehner Jr, New York Times, 3 Nov. 2025
Whetstone and Selph faulted the hospitals’ staffing and billing systems with prioritizing speed over accurate care.
—Ciara McCarthy 30, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 30 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for fault
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fault
Noun
-
The problem with that is that good teams — the winning franchises — build their teams inside-out by fortifying the offensive and defensive lines, which just happen to be the areas of weakness this season.—
Omar Kelly
November 7,
Miami Herald,
7 Nov. 2025
-
Exports weren’t the only area that saw surprise weakness.—
Glenn Taylor,
Sourcing Journal,
7 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
In a game in which little went right on offense, Rodgers’ two costliest mistakes led directly to Chargers points.—
Mike DeFabo,
New York Times,
10 Nov. 2025
-
An undisclosed person or company was using that form with his name, said Asnani, who framed the issue as a likely mistake and emphasized he was not involved in any Missouri campaigns.—
Kacen Bayless,
Kansas City Star,
10 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
While no blame was assigned, the hearings were open to the public and often gave interested parties, including family members of the person killed, their first opportunity for answers.—
Nate Gartrell,
Mercury News,
8 Nov. 2025
-
Both cases are apt to serve as models for how to prevent the kind of school shootings still plaguing the nation and could set legal precedent for who shoulders the blame when children have access to guns and open fire on campus.—
Cindy Von Quednow,
CNN Money,
7 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
Scaling these devices into full modules also introduces manufacturing challenges, such as ensuring material uniformity and controlling defects.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
11 Nov. 2025
-
The filing cites past crashes, including a fatal 2009 FedEx MD-11 crash in Tokyo, and alleges similar design flaws or defects in Boeing’s MD-11 may have caused or contributed to the November 4 crash.—
Alaa Elassar,
CNN Money,
8 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
That gap creates an opportunity—and a responsibility—for leadership.—
Kelly Jones,
MSNBC Newsweek,
6 Nov. 2025
-
The title refers to the blame placed on working women tacitly assigned responsibility for their kids as well as their jobs, an assumption that becomes explicit in a time of crisis.—
Alison Herman,
Variety,
6 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
House Democrats swiftly criticized the Senate.—
Orianna Rosa Royle,
Fortune,
10 Nov. 2025
-
Bibelheimer also had good reason to criticize the film, as Ferrell’s portrayal of her was wildly at odds with the truth.—
Sarah Weinman,
Rolling Stone,
9 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
The editor of the Pine Bluff Commercial earned second place for commentary in a contest organized by America's Newspapers for his coverage of the failings of a city tax initiative that promised civic and economic restoration.—
Grant Lancaster,
Arkansas Online,
7 Nov. 2025
-
The new report only adds to a number of security failings exposed by the heist.—
Joseph Ataman,
CNN Money,
6 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
That does leave retailers less margin for error and requires a better mastery of data analytics to improve demand forecasting—making sure that what is on offer matches what shoppers want.—
Phil Wahba,
Fortune,
7 Nov. 2025
-
Kelly did not disclose what structural engineering issues the building had, but said that the company's structural engineering firm informed Amazon of its error in a statement without elaborating.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
6 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Fault.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fault. Accessed 14 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share