misfiring

verb

present participle of misfire
as in failing
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

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 misfiring The second worker was clipped in the jaw by a misfiring nail gun. — Kevin Kruse, Forbes.com, 31 July 2026 Manchester United The disappointment of 2024-25 was somewhat rectified by a summer spent remodelling a misfiring attack. — Anantaajith Raghuraman, New York Times, 21 May 2026 The Celtics fell into an early 11-4 hole while misfiring on seven of their first nine shots. — Zack Cox, Boston Herald, 1 May 2026 Omega-3 fatty acids work by preventing the inflammatory response from misfiring, per Koff. — Kirsten Nunez, Martha Stewart, 5 Apr. 2026 While Heinrich ponders the misfiring neurons in the brain of a mass shooter, Jack’s pursuit of Mink—a character whose skin color and ambiguous ethnicity Jack remarks on repeatedly—leads him directly into the urban teeth of the War on Drugs. — Literary Hub, 1 Apr. 2026 Medication can help but the main treatment is ablation, when doctors thread catheters to the heart to burn misfiring tissue. — ABC News, 1 Apr. 2026 Then came the shot the crowd had been waiting for as the Pioneer had been misfiring all night from 3-point land. — Jerry McDonald, Mercury News, 15 Mar. 2026 Given Young’s music centers around modern, misfiring romance, the statement was unexpected. — Ramon Ramirez, Austin American Statesman, 13 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for misfiring
  1. failing
  2. stalling
  3. missing
Verb
  • Resolution allows regulators to transfer a failing bank's deposits to other institutions before liquidating its remaining assets.
    — EMILIO SANABRIA, Arkansas Online, 4 Nov. 2026
  • Voters narrowly backed a change to Miami-Dade’s charter that could clear the way for county commissioners to receive higher salaries, ending the county’s history of potential pay raises failing at the ballot box.
    — Douglas Hanks, Miami Herald, 4 Nov. 2026
Definition of failing
Verb
  • On a national level, the Sunshine Protection Act, which would end changing the clocks, passed in the House of Representatives back in July, before stalling in the Senate.
    — Amanda Callahan, CBS News, 2 Nov. 2026
  • The tone, momentum and overall direction often are determined by a precious few snaps, and instead of stacking breakthrough moments the Chiefs kept stalling.
    — Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 29 Oct. 2026
Definition of stalling
Verb
  • Nearly a year after Christina Downer was reported missing in Los Angeles, police arrested her boyfriend, actor Delorean Bijon Brandon, and Kaylee Nicole Markowski on suspicion of murder.
    — Emily St. Martin, Los Angeles Times, 31 Oct. 2026
  • The groom, who is close enough in age to feel more like a cousin, sends them on a quick errand that turns into a string of misadventures, leaving the trio at risk of missing the wedding altogether.
    — Essie Assibu, Variety, 30 Oct. 2026
Definition of missing

Browse Nearby Words

misfires
misfiring
misfit
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Cite this Entry

“Misfiring.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/misfiring. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

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