fail

verb

1)

the enterprise had failed

Syn:

be unsuccessful, not succeed, fall through, fall flat, collapse, founder, backfire, meet with disaster, come to nothing, come to naught; informal flop, bomb

Ant:

succeed

2)

he has failed the final French examination

Syn:

be unsuccessful in, not pass; not make the grade on; informal flunk, botch, blow, screw up, bungle

Ant:

pass

3)

at his lowest point, his friends failed him

Syn:

let down, disappoint; desert, abandon, betray, be disloyal to; literary forsake

Ant:

support

4)

the crops failed

Syn:

die, wither; be deficient, be insufficient, be inadequate

Ant:

thrive

5)

daylight failed

Syn:

fade, dim, die away, wane, disappear, vanish

6)

the ventilation system failed

Syn:

break down, break, stop working, cut out, crash; malfunction, go wrong, develop a fault; informal conk out, go on the blink, go on the fritz

Ant:

work

7)

Joe's health was failing

Syn:

deteriorate, degenerate, decline, fade, wane, ebb

Ant:

improving

8)

900 businesses are failing a week

Syn:

collapse, crash, go under, go bankrupt, go into receivership, go into liquidation, cease trading; informal fold, flop, go bust, go broke, go belly-up

Ant:

thrive

•

- without fail