as in failing
to go wrong
their scheme to rob the bank misfired disastrously and landed them all in jail
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Recent Examples of misfiring
Mayfield completed his first six passes before misfiring on a cross-field, 13-yard toss to Payne Durham, who was wide open in the end zone.
—
Jackson Thompson, FOXNews.com, 4 Jan. 2026
Mayfield completed his first six passes before misfiring on a cross-field, 13-yard toss to Payne Durham, who was wide open in the end zone.
—Dallas Morning News, 3 Jan. 2026
But Cunningham manufactured another five free-throw attempts in the closing seconds, hitting four before misfiring on the fifth.
—Zack Cox, Boston Herald, 27 Nov. 2025
Liverpool’s defence was so shaky that even the misfiring attack went unnoticed.
—The Athletic Uk Staff, New York Times, 25 Oct. 2025
Your intuition might be misfiring!
—Usa Today, USA Today, 7 Aug. 2025
In the 1950s, researchers used a primitive electronic sensor to identify the misfiring neurons that give rise to Parkinson’s disease.
—IEEE Spectrum, 28 May 2022
Jackson Thompson, FOXNews.com, 4 Jan. 2026
Mayfield completed his first six passes before misfiring on a cross-field, 13-yard toss to Payne Durham, who was wide open in the end zone.
—Dallas Morning News, 3 Jan. 2026
But Cunningham manufactured another five free-throw attempts in the closing seconds, hitting four before misfiring on the fifth.
—Zack Cox, Boston Herald, 27 Nov. 2025
Liverpool’s defence was so shaky that even the misfiring attack went unnoticed.
—The Athletic Uk Staff, New York Times, 25 Oct. 2025
Your intuition might be misfiring!
—Usa Today, USA Today, 7 Aug. 2025
In the 1950s, researchers used a primitive electronic sensor to identify the misfiring neurons that give rise to Parkinson’s disease.
—IEEE Spectrum, 28 May 2022
Recent Examples of Synonyms for misfiring
Verb
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Israel has long mistrusted UNIFIL, accusing it of failing to prevent Hezbollah from building up its military presence along the border in violation of ceasefire agreements going back two decades.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
8 Feb. 2026
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Marlin, the chief, was charged with evidence tampering and failing to report ethics crimes allegedly committed by two of his officers.—
Rob Picheta,
CNN Money,
7 Feb. 2026
Verb
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While the middle class is stalling, to put it mildly, the irredeemably rich appear to be getting even richer.—
Kati Chitrakorn,
CNN Money,
4 Feb. 2026
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Taking care of ourselves can feel like a lot of work, maybe even stalling us from doing anything at all.—
Cara Lynn Shultz,
PEOPLE,
3 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Remains found amid search in Mexico MEXICO CITY -- Mexican authorities on Friday announced the discovery of bodies and remains in the northwestern state of Sinaloa in an area of an ongoing search for 10 missing workers from a Canadian gold and silver mine.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
8 Feb. 2026
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Van de Ven is the only first-choice defender who is fit, and this was his first appearance since missing two games with a groin injury.—
Jay Harris,
New York Times,
8 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Misfiring.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/misfiring. Accessed 14 Feb. 2026.
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