as in failed
to go wrong
their scheme to rob the bank misfired disastrously and landed them all in jail
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Recent Examples of misfired
Court records show the teen tried to shoot Spencer with a rifle, but the gun misfired.
—
Cbs Miami Team,
CBS News,
25 June 2026
Brunson rose for a deep three-pointer that misfired, but Anunoby weaved through traffic and tipped the ball in for a one-point lead to secure the win.
—
Fiifi Frimpong,
New York Daily News,
11 June 2026
The rocket’s upper stage was supposed to fire its engines two times to inject AST’s satellite into the proper orbit, but the stage misfired on the second burn, stranding the payload in a lower-than-planned orbit.
—
Stephen Clark,
ArsTechnica,
28 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
Linscott said the researchers at first suspected their computer modelling misfired.
—
Jenny Staletovich,
Miami Herald,
2 May 2026
And in 2022, after a man pointed a gun at Argentina’s then-Vice President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner that misfired, Argentinians accused the ruling party of staging the incident to distract from Kirchner’s corruption trial.
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Harmeet Kaur,
CNN Money,
23 Apr. 2026
After failing to score on the last 22 chances in the regular season, the Sabres have misfired on their first 13 man advantages in the series, including four Thursday.
—
ABC News,
23 Apr. 2026
Jasmine Nguyen was struck by a rocket projectile that misfired during a block party, flying across the street to her front year and lethally striking her.
—
Joe Rubin,
Sacbee.com,
19 Apr. 2026
Cbs Miami Team,
CBS News,
25 June 2026
Brunson rose for a deep three-pointer that misfired, but Anunoby weaved through traffic and tipped the ball in for a one-point lead to secure the win.
—
Fiifi Frimpong,
New York Daily News,
11 June 2026
The rocket’s upper stage was supposed to fire its engines two times to inject AST’s satellite into the proper orbit, but the stage misfired on the second burn, stranding the payload in a lower-than-planned orbit.
—
Stephen Clark,
ArsTechnica,
28 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
Linscott said the researchers at first suspected their computer modelling misfired.
—
Jenny Staletovich,
Miami Herald,
2 May 2026
And in 2022, after a man pointed a gun at Argentina’s then-Vice President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner that misfired, Argentinians accused the ruling party of staging the incident to distract from Kirchner’s corruption trial.
—
Harmeet Kaur,
CNN Money,
23 Apr. 2026
After failing to score on the last 22 chances in the regular season, the Sabres have misfired on their first 13 man advantages in the series, including four Thursday.
—
ABC News,
23 Apr. 2026
Jasmine Nguyen was struck by a rocket projectile that misfired during a block party, flying across the street to her front year and lethally striking her.
—
Joe Rubin,
Sacbee.com,
19 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for misfired
Verb
-
Morocco lost a pair of 1-0 games before tying Spain but failed to get out of the group stage.
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Despite his storied career, Messi failed to score a goal at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
Verb
-
Monday, a tractor-trailer pulling a load of Acme bricks stalled on the tracks at a railroad crossing on West Sullenberger Avenue, Malvern Fire Chief Chris Brewster said Tuesday.
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Ahead, Hale recounts how a project that ran out of money, stalled in production, and seemed destined to fail ultimately found a way forward through risk, sacrifice, and the extraordinary loyalty of one friend.
Verb
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Hamel became pregnant in October 2025 and miscarried, and her sister became pregnant soon after and also miscarried.
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Goodman miscarried multiple times, and lost at least one child in infancy.
Cite this Entry
“Misfired.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/misfired. Accessed 30 Jun. 2026.
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