as in to fail
to go wrong
their scheme to rob the bank misfired disastrously and landed them all in jail
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in catastrophe
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of misfire
Anantaajith Raghuraman,
New York Times,
21 May 2026
Overall the Lakers committed 21 more turnovers, giving up 26 points off the mistakes while paying dearly for every errant dribble or misfired pass against the swarming Thunder defenders.
—
Los Angeles Times,
8 May 2026
ABC News,
12 Apr. 2026
This decision to stop progress on Be Fri came in late 2023, months after Toy Story prequel movie Lightyear was a box office misfire in light of right-wing pundits causing commotion over its same-gender kiss.
—
Ryan Gajewski,
HollywoodReporter,
10 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for misfire
Verb
Manchester United The disappointment of 2024-25 was somewhat rectified by a summer spent remodelling a misfiring attack.
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Anantaajith Raghuraman,
New York Times,
21 May 2026
Overall the Lakers committed 21 more turnovers, giving up 26 points off the mistakes while paying dearly for every errant dribble or misfired pass against the swarming Thunder defenders.
—
Los Angeles Times,
8 May 2026
Noun
Officials confirmed a misfire without providing details.
—
ABC News,
12 Apr. 2026
This decision to stop progress on Be Fri came in late 2023, months after Toy Story prequel movie Lightyear was a box office misfire in light of right-wing pundits causing commotion over its same-gender kiss.
—
Ryan Gajewski,
HollywoodReporter,
10 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for misfire
Recent Examples of Synonyms for misfire
Verb
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From 1994 to 2018, Mexico failed to win a World Cup knockout game and, in 2022, failed to advance past the group stage — its worst showing at a World Cup since 1978.
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Such a bond occurs when a judge grants a compassionate release for inmates who are in failing health and no longer a threat to the community.
Noun
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Days before the five-year anniversary of the 2021 building collapse that killed 98 people in Surfside, the federal government has published findings that determined the structure of the Champlain Towers South condominium started failing about three weeks before the catastrophe.
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Chile introduced a tax deduction for catastrophe insurance premiums and resilience retrofit investment.
Verb
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In the spring, when animals’ energy stores are low, navigating uncrossable fences can cause pregnant wildlife to miscarry and, over time, result in declining birthrates, the authors wrote.
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Hamel became pregnant in October 2025 and miscarried, and her sister became pregnant soon after and also miscarried.
Noun
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Instead, Marsh’s bomb opened the flood gates for the Phillies to score eight runs in the top of the ninth inning to absolutely stun the Nationals and its home crowd in a miraculous 14-9 victory on Tuesday night.
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Both in the Broadhurst Theatre and on The Tonight Show, the number is a total joy bomb.
Verb
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How these issues are handled could fuel the engine of progress on some seemingly intractable issues over the next two years, or stall it.
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The campaign, which Zelenskyy has said aims to bring Russian President Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table, has choked Russian fuel supplies and military deliveries, stalling Moscow’s efforts on the battlefield and heaping pressure on Putin, Western officials and analysts say.
Noun
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Of course, 90 percent bankrolled by Sepp Blatter and his cronies, the critical flop (a zero Rotten Tomatoes rating) and commercial loser ($171,000 at the box office against a $30 million budget, America’s lowest-grossing opening ever) was never going to paint a well-balanced picture.
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Despite vast disruption in the industry, box office — particularly opening weekends — is still the shorthand Hollywood uses to declare hits and flops.
Noun
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There were missteps for Arista along the way, including the Milli Vanilli fiasco of the late 1980s, but the label would become a destination where artists would revive their careers after commercial step-backs or dormancy.
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If only the look from the outside-in had measured up the same way instead of descending into a fiasco as thousands faced infuriating delays getting to the stadium.
Noun
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Taking the midway point of those numbers, an opening weekend of $45 million would be a monumental failure.
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Then came this spring’s historic and devastating floods across northern Michigan — in some areas, for the first time anyone can remember — swamping homes, pushing dams to the brink of failure and washing out roadways.
Cite this Entry
“Misfire.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/misfire. Accessed 5 Jul. 2026.
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