as in to fail
to go wrong
their scheme to rob the bank misfired disastrously and landed them all in jail
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in catastrophe
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of misfire
Jesus Mesa, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 Sep. 2025
And there was Nix’s misfire on a damning fourth-quarter go-ball to Courtland Sutton, when the quarterback had his go-to man streaking free on a third-and-10 … only to chuck it just past his fingertips.
—Luca Evans, Denver Post, 22 Sep. 2025
Rachel Wolf, FOXNews.com, 11 Oct. 2025
Historically, Ohtani has misfired with the bat at Philadelphia – going into the game, none of his 250 career homers have come there.
—Jamie Barton, CNN Money, 5 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for misfire
Verb
But one of the most personal misfires came from inside her own hotel room.
—Jesus Mesa, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 Sep. 2025
And there was Nix’s misfire on a damning fourth-quarter go-ball to Courtland Sutton, when the quarterback had his go-to man streaking free on a third-and-10 … only to chuck it just past his fingertips.
—Luca Evans, Denver Post, 22 Sep. 2025
Noun
While it was later discovered that the explosion was caused by a Palestinian Islamic Jihad rocket that misfired, MSF neither corrected nor deleted its condemnation, which is still available on X but has a community note.
—Rachel Wolf, FOXNews.com, 11 Oct. 2025
Historically, Ohtani has misfired with the bat at Philadelphia – going into the game, none of his 250 career homers have come there.
—Jamie Barton, CNN Money, 5 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for misfire
Recent Examples of Synonyms for misfire
Verb
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Semafor traced it to a pair of US life insurers that had funneled policyholders’ cash to 777’s Bermudan reinsurer, which invested it into sports teams, airplanes, a payday lender, and a failing budget airline, among other bets generally unsuited for insurance guarantees.—
Liz Hoffman,
semafor.com,
18 Oct. 2025
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Yet Britain failed to capitalize on the success, underestimating the American ability to regroup and continue fighting.—
JSTOR Daily,
JSTOR Daily,
18 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Hocus Pocus was considered a flop for Disney until annual rewatches around this time of year helped turn it into a cult classic.—
Gwen Ihnat,
Entertainment Weekly,
18 Oct. 2025
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Tron’s flop comes one week after The Smashing Machine underdelivered to the tune of a $6 million opening; condolences to the 133 of you who splurged on both.—
Joe Reid,
Vulture,
15 Oct. 2025
Verb
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People who miscarry facing jail time or dying from infection.—
Seda Saluk,
The Conversation,
16 Oct. 2025
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Soon afterward Joan miscarried for the third time—in her fourth month of pregnancy.—
Gail Jennes,
PEOPLE,
8 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Of course, if Jarrett doesn’t make it to Cologne in time, or if Vera can’t find the right piano for him before the curtain goes up, the whole thing could easily turn into a life-defining fiasco.—
David Ehrlich,
IndieWire,
17 Oct. 2025
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The fiasco became a central focus of the sole debate between the two Virginia candidates last week.—
Emily Hallas,
The Washington Examiner,
16 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The data gives insight into how the country’s wider immigrant population looked in 2023, with MPI estimating numbers continued to rise into 2024, but have likely since stalled and perhaps even begun to decline as immigration enforcement increases.—
Dan Gooding,
MSNBC Newsweek,
21 Oct. 2025
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There is often community resistance that stalls the building of homes.—
Samantha Delouya,
CNN Money,
21 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Two months later, on February 26, 1993, al-Qaeda detonated a truck bomb beneath the World Trade Center, killing six people and injuring more than a thousand.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
20 Oct. 2025
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Around ninety percent of buildings damaged or destroyed, there are no funds for reconstruction and unexploded bombs are buried beneath debris.—
Leila Fadel,
NPR,
20 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Here were the studs and duds of a vintage 49ers performance.—
Dieter Kurtenbach,
Mercury News,
20 Oct. 2025
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Are McDonald's Snack Wraps a dud?—
Chad Murphy,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
20 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Market breadth was negative but not a washout, new 52-week highs were still well ahead of new lows.—
Michael Santoli,
CNBC,
7 Oct. 2025
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The storm also left people trapped in seven vehicles on nearby roads after overflowing creeks caused washouts, deputies said.—
Don Sweeney,
Sacbee.com,
9 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Misfire.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/misfire. Accessed 26 Oct. 2025.
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