Synonyms of fell short

fell short

phrase

past tense of fall short

1

as in failed

to be unsuccessful

The movie fell short of its viewers' expectations.

Synonyms & Similar Words

• failed
• collapsed
• flopped
• folded
• missed
• fell flat
• struggled
• came to grief
• flamed out
• struck out
• laid an egg
• came up empty
• washed out
• came a cropper
• bombed
• died on the vine
• flunked
• tanked
• fell on one's face
• foundered
• cratered
• declined
• crashed
• slipped
• went under
• slumped
• skidded
• crumbled
• floundered
• waned
• miscarried
• sank
• misfired
• imploded
• self-destructed

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• went over
• worked out
• went
• succeeded
• delivered
• came off
• clicked
• panned out
• cooked
• flourished
• prospered
• thrived
• prevailed
• won
• triumphed

2

as in fell flat

to go wrong

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• fell flat
• came to grief
• failed
• miscarried
• came a cropper
• stalled
• misfired
• missed
• died
• flopped
• struggled
• folded
• washed out
• crashed
• flamed out
• broke down
• conked (out)
• fizzled
• foundered
• flunked
• skidded
• slumped
• slipped
• waned
• floundered
• busted
• bombed
• declined
• tanked

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• prevailed
• succeeded
• flourished
• prospered
• thrived

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of fell short

But in other areas, the tobacco settlement fell short of its goals. — Susan Morrisey, STAT, 15 Sep. 2026

The 2025 Toyota bZ was also an Insurance Institute for Highway Safety Top Safety Pick+ award winner, but the 2026 version fell short of the organization's most stringent recent round of testing. — Keith Laing, USA Today, 15 Sep. 2026

In a 49 to 50 vote, the measure fell short of the 60 votes needed to move forward, with all Democrats and four Republicans opposing. — Kaia Hubbard, CBS News, 15 Sep. 2026

ServiceTitan — Shares fell over 30% after the technology company's third-quarter guidance on revenue fell short of estimates by analysts polled by FactSet. — Ananya Chetia, CNBC, 9 Sep. 2026

China’s trade growth accelerated last month, but data showing imports fell short of analysts’ expectations will likely add to calls for Beijing to rebalance its economy ahead of a high-stakes leaders summit with the US this month. — Prashant Rao, semafor.com, 8 Sep. 2026

That’s why their solution fell short of satisfying the Millennium Prize criteria. — Konstantin Kakaes, Quanta Magazine, 8 Sep. 2026

An effort by the statewide county superintendents association to limit that authority fell short last week when its proposal was never introduced as a bill. — Chaewon Chung, Sacbee.com, 1 Sep. 2026

When applied to the creative industries, traditional solutions fell short for the average creator. — Coco Mao, Forbes.com, 1 Sep. 2026