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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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Dissimilar Words

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
Pollsters approach this year’s midterm elections dogged by high-profile misfires in recent elections while facing challenges from brash rivals intent on reshaping the landscape of political forecasts. — W. Joseph Campbell, The Conversation, 22 Sep. 2026 An agent that misfires books the wrong shipment or approves the wrong invoice. — Emily Lewis-Pinnell, Forbes.com, 1 Sep. 2026 Kennedy misfires Many of Kennedy's claims so far on autism have not withstood scientific scrutiny. — Amanda Seitz, CBS News, 17 Aug. 2026 Ackman’s misfires, though, have been offset by some prescient investments in the face of black swan events like the subprime mortgage crisis and COVID, cementing his reputation as one of the shrewdest and most daring risk-takers on Wall Street. — Jeff John Roberts, Fortune, 20 July 2026 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for misfires
  1. fails
  2. bombs
  3. stalls
  4. flops
  5. miscarries
  6. failures
  7. misses
  8. duds
Verb
  • Consider what happens when a large late-stage clinical trial fails.
    — George Achilleos, Forbes.com, 25 Sep. 2026
  • While captive whales often live only into their 30s, Marino said attributing their deaths to age fails to acknowledge the reality of why their lifespans are shorter.
    — Lila Hempel-Edgers, Chicago Tribune, 25 Sep. 2026
Definition of fails
Noun
  • No, the Unabomber, a onetime math genius and professor named Ted Kaczynski, was basically a hermit nerd in a Montana cabin who mailed bombs to scientists, engineers, professors, and other elites.
    — Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 25 Sep. 2026
  • Given the difficulty of defending against drones, missiles, and bombs, large-scale attacks on critical infrastructure would likely have succeeded and invited reprisals in kind, leaving everyone worse off.
    — RICHARD HAASS, Foreign Affairs, 23 Sep. 2026
Definition of bombs
Verb
  • Paying Down Data Debt Without Halting AI The mistake most organizations make is treating data debt paydown as a two-year infrastructure project that stalls the AI road map.
    — Gopichand Mannava, Forbes.com, 4 Sep. 2026
  • This process stalls improvements for years.
    — Ariane Lange, Sacbee.com, 16 Mar. 2026
Definition of stalls
Noun
  • Finally, Vic gives up on being wheelbarrowed and full-body flops on the floor with only their feet under the velvet rope.
    — Tasha Robinson, Vulture, 8 Sep. 2026
  • But after Annapurna moved from financing its movies to distributing them in 2017, costs rose, flops piled up, and Megan Ellison scaled back her ambitions.
    — Brent Lang, IndieWire, 26 Aug. 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
  • That makes preventing deployment and routing failures especially important as these fleets expand.
    — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 19 Sep. 2026
  • Built in 1965, the JFK was the oldest ferry in the Staten Island fleet when it was retired last August due to mechanical failures.
    — Antonio Ferme, Variety, 19 Sep. 2026
Definition of failures
Verb
  • If that prediction misses, then manufacturers have little opportunity to change course.
    — Sally C. Pipes, Chicago Tribune, 20 Sep. 2026
  • If those issues linger and Willis misses time, the healthy group would be reduced to Dylan Edwards, Micah Johnson, John Kelly and Jack Reeves.
    — Taylor Eldridge, Kansas City Star, 20 Sep. 2026
Definition of misses
Noun
  • Some of the past winners have turned out to be total sales duds.
    — Jamie L. LaReau, Freep.com, 18 Sep. 2026
  • Can’t wait to see where Ritchie — whose had his fair share of duds — and James are heading next.
    — Randy Myers, Mercury News, 3 Sep. 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 27 Sep. 2026.

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