misfires 1 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of misfire
as in fails
to go wrong their scheme to rob the bank misfired disastrously and landed them all in jail

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

misfires

2 of 2

noun

plural of misfire
as in bombs

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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 misfires
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
  1. fails
  2. bombs
  3. stalls
  4. flops
  5. miscarries
  6. failures
  7. misses
  8. duds
Verb
  • Companies use self-service technology to cut costs, but risk losing customers when the technology fails without human support.
    — Christopher Elliott, USA Today, 10 July 2026
  • If that fails, the Yankees still have some internal ways of improving their pen, at least theoretically.
    — Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 10 July 2026
Definition of fails
Noun
  • Public anger was more raw as the country grappled with a largely unchecked hail of bombs from the sky.
    — Frederik Pleitgen, CNN Money, 11 July 2026
  • This transition allowed the agency to skip long setup periods and begin assembling the newer, higher-yield bombs immediately.
    — Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 10 July 2026
Definition of bombs
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.
    — Nielsen Dinwoodie, Forbes.com, 26 May 2026
  • This process stalls improvements for years.
    — Ariane Lange, Sacbee.com, 16 Mar. 2026
Definition of stalls
Noun
  • John Wilson/Netflix ©2026 Netflix is going to throw away money on blockbuster critical flops anyway.
    — Hannah Abraham, Forbes.com, 4 July 2026
  • Trade the tricorn hats, bonnets and homespun shirts for flip flops, sneakers and soccer jerseys, and the intrepid revolutionaries of 1776 would have looked a lot like the people of 2026.
    — Katherine Ott, The Conversation, 2 July 2026
Definition of flops
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.
    — Leslie Felperin, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2019
Definition of miscarries
Noun
  • According to Castillo, one of the most significant failures has been the tendency to treat many squatter complaints as civil disputes rather than criminal investigations.
    — Stepheny Price, FOXNews.com, 5 July 2026
  • Spence also appears to be absorbing the blame for broader failures, with Thomas Tuchel’s touchline frustrations obvious and — for a player still establishing himself at this level — that scrutiny is unlikely to help.
    — Sarah Shephard, New York Times, 4 July 2026
Definition of failures
Verb
  • Perhaps the most impressive aspect, however, is the lengths staff go to in order to make sure no one misses their flight.
    — Rachel Chang, Travel + Leisure, 7 July 2026
  • That framing misses how global payroll platforms actually operate.
    — Vitalii Mikhailov, Forbes.com, 7 July 2026
Definition of misses
Noun
  • For every surprise discovery, however, there are one or more duds.
    — Miguel Otárola, Denver Post, 6 July 2026
  • 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.
    — Bill Stone, Forbes.com, 13 June 2026
Definition of duds

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Cite this Entry

“Misfires.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/misfires. Accessed 13 Jul. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on misfires

Nglish: Translation of misfires for Spanish Speakers

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