as in fails
to go wrong
their scheme to rob the bank misfired disastrously and landed them all in jail
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Recent Examples of misfires
Armando Salguero Outkick,
FOXNews.com,
24 Apr. 2026
Sig Sauer faces a class action suit over claims that its P320 pistol misfires.
—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
15 Apr. 2026
And research into why the brain misfires.
—
Teri Sforza,
Oc Register,
27 Mar. 2026
That optimism may be a bit misguided, considering the history of emerging sports league misfires.
—
Justin Birnbaum,
Sportico.com,
18 Mar. 2026
The brain misfires on what feels charged or taboo.
—
Peter White,
Deadline,
24 Feb. 2026
As Wiener, the show’s curator, walks me through, her narration inevitably turns into a litany of the artist’s almosts, misfires, and losses.
—
Christopher Bonanos,
Curbed,
4 Feb. 2026
There were issues with intake manifold leaks, exhaust manifold cracking, coolant leaks, engine misfires due to corrosion, and water in the spark plug holes.
—
John Paul,
The Providence Journal,
9 Jan. 2026
In a bid to make Curtis jealous, Castor brings home from the nightclub the 20something Omar for an overnight hookup, but that misfires spectacularly.
—
Pam Kragen,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
26 Nov. 2025
Verb
But the Raiders organization is rife with quarterback misfires in its recent history.
—
Armando Salguero Outkick,
FOXNews.com,
24 Apr. 2026
Sig Sauer faces a class action suit over claims that its P320 pistol misfires.
—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
15 Apr. 2026
And research into why the brain misfires.
—
Teri Sforza,
Oc Register,
27 Mar. 2026
That optimism may be a bit misguided, considering the history of emerging sports league misfires.
—
Justin Birnbaum,
Sportico.com,
18 Mar. 2026
The brain misfires on what feels charged or taboo.
—
Peter White,
Deadline,
24 Feb. 2026
As Wiener, the show’s curator, walks me through, her narration inevitably turns into a litany of the artist’s almosts, misfires, and losses.
—
Christopher Bonanos,
Curbed,
4 Feb. 2026
There were issues with intake manifold leaks, exhaust manifold cracking, coolant leaks, engine misfires due to corrosion, and water in the spark plug holes.
—
John Paul,
The Providence Journal,
9 Jan. 2026
In a bid to make Curtis jealous, Castor brings home from the nightclub the 20something Omar for an overnight hookup, but that misfires spectacularly.
—
Pam Kragen,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
26 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for misfires
Verb
-
But too often that has become shorthand for a stodgy and unresponsive sector that fails to respond to customer demand.
-
Standard sonar often fails in shallow waters, while cameras are blinded by shifting sands and the simple distortion of rolling ocean waves.
Noun
-
Four were acquitted of rioting while one, Christopher Gillen, 45, was convicted of riot and tossing fire bombs.
-
Frazier eagerly reposted a vile lie claiming Israelis drop bombs disguised as toys to murder children—originally posted by a UK activist facing terror charges for backing Hamas.
Verb
-
Not stalls the standard 12-by-12 feet of other ranches but 14 feet square to give horses more room to move around naturally.
-
This process stalls improvements for years.
Noun
-
Let’s make a little detour here to talk about some of the logistics of these monumental computing systems, with the understanding that ENIAC, built in the middle of the twentieth century, ran at about 500 flops.
-
Those numbers, which dribble out over the weekend and are sometimes strategically leaked to show momentum (or, in some cases, flops-in-waiting), form the backbone of the entertainment industry’s narrative-driving machine.
Verb
-
Just after a third pregnancy also miscarries, Aje meets a young woman named Mayra in a hospital waiting room and the two get talking.
Noun
-
The northwestern states of Aragua, Carabobo and Falcón have also been affected, with some areas reporting power failures, Rodríguez said.
-
But Ramaphosa also conceded that there had been failures in South Africa's border control.
Verb
-
Memorizing where relationships happen in every country misses the point.
-
Yet that misses the gentle buzz of excitement when Secrets visited.
Noun
-
Much like the stock market as a whole, a successful investment portfolio typically has exceptional stocks that more than overcome the subpar returns of the duds.
-
Perhaps the biggest duds of this campaign season have been San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.
Cite this Entry
“Misfires.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/misfires. Accessed 6 Jul. 2026.
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