as in to fail
to fail to function or work properly
A software problem is causing the system to malfunction.
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of malfunction
If her day weren’t bad enough, the cops have been constantly calling McKay, who disabled her malfunctioning ankle monitor with an IO drill during the chaos of the PittFest trauma.
—
Hunter Ingram, Variety, 4 Apr. 2025
Choppy text — a mix of computer code and poetry — runs across the malfunctioning images.
—Nicole Acheampong, New York Times, 25 Mar. 2025
However, acknowledging failure, learning from mistakes and persevering will help students conquer challenges such as a malfunctioning robot or making a last-minute change to a new product.
—Dan Mantz, Forbes.com, 24 Apr. 2025
When her gun jammed or malfunctioned, Simpson allegedly began firing his own gun at Marchbanks and Pennington, court records read.
—Ilana Arougheti, Kansas City Star, 11 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for malfunction
Hunter Ingram, Variety, 4 Apr. 2025
Choppy text — a mix of computer code and poetry — runs across the malfunctioning images.
—Nicole Acheampong, New York Times, 25 Mar. 2025
However, acknowledging failure, learning from mistakes and persevering will help students conquer challenges such as a malfunctioning robot or making a last-minute change to a new product.
—Dan Mantz, Forbes.com, 24 Apr. 2025
When her gun jammed or malfunctioned, Simpson allegedly began firing his own gun at Marchbanks and Pennington, court records read.
—Ilana Arougheti, Kansas City Star, 11 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for malfunction
Recent Examples of Synonyms for malfunction
Verb
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Earlier this year, after failing to meet its own October deadline for the rebate’s relaunch, the government passed a measure allowing producers to claim expenses accrued in the final months of 2024 and the start of 2025.—
Christopher Vourlias,
Variety,
18 May 2025
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Over the years, he’s placed a total of 48 tracks somewhere on the list, meaning nearly all of them have become top 10 smashes, with only a handful failing to rise into that uppermost region.—
Hugh McIntyre,
Forbes.com,
18 May 2025
Verb
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The truck then crashed into a pillar on the 95th Street bridge and came to rest against the bridge, the crash report said.—
Kendrick Calfee,
Kansas City Star,
17 May 2025
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The Mad Max: Fury Road and Nosferatu star, 35, initially went out for the leading role of Clark Kent/Kal-El, the Kryptonian strongman who crash lands on Earth as a babe and struggles ever since to reconcile his upbringing in small-town Kansas with his otherworldly heritage.—
Nick Romano,
EW.com,
15 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Malfunction.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/malfunction. Accessed 22 May. 2025.
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