as in to fail
to fail to function or work properly
A software problem is causing the system to malfunction.
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Recent Examples of malfunction
Investigators said Lau was not having a medical emergency when the crash occurred and found that her vehicle did not malfunction.
—
Annie Vainshtein, San Francisco Chronicle, 20 Mar. 2026
Following the incident, Haidilao confirmed the event in a statement to NBC News but rejected claims that the robot had malfunctioned.
—Sujita Sinha, Interesting Engineering, 20 Mar. 2026
An Ohio Ford employee is dead after being trapped and crushed by a malfunctioning industrial machine at a company plant this week.
—Julia Bonavita, FOXNews.com, 17 Mar. 2026
The receiver is not malfunctioning; it has simply been tricked.
—Anna Raymaker, The Conversation, 12 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for malfunction
Annie Vainshtein, San Francisco Chronicle, 20 Mar. 2026
Following the incident, Haidilao confirmed the event in a statement to NBC News but rejected claims that the robot had malfunctioned.
—Sujita Sinha, Interesting Engineering, 20 Mar. 2026
An Ohio Ford employee is dead after being trapped and crushed by a malfunctioning industrial machine at a company plant this week.
—Julia Bonavita, FOXNews.com, 17 Mar. 2026
The receiver is not malfunctioning; it has simply been tricked.
—Anna Raymaker, The Conversation, 12 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for malfunction
Recent Examples of Synonyms for malfunction
Verb
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The lawsuit alleged that Bank of America failed to file suspicious activity reports, known as SARs, until after Epstein's death in 2019.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
28 Mar. 2026
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During the next two and a half years, Beckham and various investors tried, and failed, to land a stadium deal.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
28 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Temperatures will be warmest, near 60°, early Friday morning before crashing into the 40s.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
27 Mar. 2026
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And six years later, Donovan is still prodding and cajoling the forward to crash the boards and control his dribble and contribute physically to the game.—
Julia Poe,
Chicago Tribune,
26 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Malfunction.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/malfunction. Accessed 31 Mar. 2026.
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