Fail to do something; leave something undone:
— She failed to notice that her child was no longer in his crib.
— The secretary failed to call the customer and the company lost the account.

synoniem: neglect.

Roget 699: be unskillful etc. adj.; not see an inch beyond one's nose; blunder, bungle, boggle, fumble, botch, bitch, flounder, stumble, trip; hobble etc. 275; put one's foot in it; make a mess of, make hash of, make sad work of; overshoot the mark.    play tricks with, play Puck, mismanage, misconduct, misdirect, misapply, missend.    stultify oneself, make a fool of oneself, commit oneself; act foolishly; play the fool; put oneself out of court; lose control, lose control of oneself, lose one's head, lose one's cunning.    begin at the wrong end; do things by halves etc. (not complete) 730; make two bites of a cherry; play at cross purposes; strain at a gnat and swallow a camel etc. (caprice) 608; put the cart before the horse; lock the stable door when the horse is stolen etc. (too late) 135.    not know what one is about, not know one's own interest, not know on which side one's bread is buttered; stand in one's own light, quarrel with one's bread and butter, throw a stone in one's own garden, kill the goose which lays the golden eggs, pay dear for one's whistle, cut one's own throat, bum one's fingers; knock one's head against a stone wall, beat one's head against a stone wall; fall into a trap, catch a Tartar, bring the house about one's ears; have too many eggs in one basket (imprudent) 863, have too many irons in the fire.    mistake etc. 495; take the shadow for the substance etc. (credulity) 486; bark up the wrong tree; be in the wrong box, aim at a pigeon and kill a crow; take the wrong pig by the tail, get the wrong pig by the tail, get the wrong sow by the ear, get the dirty end of the stick; put the saddle on the wrong horse, put a square peg into a round hole, put new wine into old bottles.    cut blocks with a razor; hold a farthing candle to the sun etc. (useless) 645; fight with a shadow, grasp at a shadow; catch at straws, lean on a broken reed, reckon without one's host, pursue a wild goose chase; go on a fool's goose chase, sleeveless errand; go further and fare worse; lose one's way, miss one's way; fail etc. 732.    ... meer laten zien

Roget 927: violate; break, break through; infringe; set aside, set at naught; encroach upon, trench upon; trample on, trample under foot; slight, neglect, evade, renounce, forswear, repudiate; wash one's hands of; escape, transgress, fail.    call to account etc. (disapprobation) 932.    ... meer laten zien

Roget 773: fail, neglect, omit, elude, evade, give the go-by to, set aside, ignore; shut one's eyes to, close one's eyes to.    infringe, transgress, violate, pirate, break, trample under foot, do violence to, drive a coach and six through.    discard, protest, repudiate, fling to the winds, set at naught, nullify, declare null and void; cancel etc. (wipe off) 552.    retract, go back from, be off, forfeit, go from one's word, palter; stretch a point, strain a point.    ... meer laten zien

Roget 495: be erroneous etc. adj.. cause error; mislead, misguide; lead astray, lead into error; beguile, misinform etc. (misteach) 538^†; delude; give a false impression, give a false idea; falsify, misstate; deceive etc. 545; lie etc. 544.    err; be in error etc. adj., be mistaken etc. v.; be deceived etc. (duped) 547; mistake, receive a false impression, deceive oneself; fall into error, lie under error, labor under an error etc. n.; be in the wrong, blunder; misapprehend, misconceive, misunderstand, misreckon, miscount, miscalculate etc. (misjudge) 481.    play at cross purposes, be at cross purposes etc. (misinterpret) 523.    trip, stumble; lose oneself etc. (uncertainty) 475; go astray; fail etc. 732; be in the wrong box; take the wrong sow by the ear etc. (mismanage) 699; put the saddle on the wrong horse; reckon without one's host; take the shadow for the substance etc. (credulity) 486; dream etc. (imagine) 515.    ... meer laten zien

Roget 645: be useless etc. adj.; go a begging etc. (redundant) 641; fail etc. 732.    seek after impossibilities, strive after impossibilities; use vain efforts, labor in vain, roll the stone of Sisyphus, beat the air, lash the waves, battre l'eau avec un baton [Fr.], donner un coup d'epee dans l'eau [Fr.], fish in the air, milk the ram, drop a bucket into an empty well, sow the sand; bay the moon; preach to the winds, speak to the winds; whistle jigs to a milestone; kick against the pricks, se battre contre des moulins [Fr.]; lock the stable door when the steed is stolen, lock the barn door after the horse is stolen etc. (too late) 135; hold a farthing candle to the sun; cast pearls before swine etc. (waste) 638; carry coals to Newcastle etc. (redundancy) 641; wash a blackamoor white etc. (impossible) 471.    render useless etc. adj.; dismantle, dismast, dismount, disqualify, disable; unrig; cripple, lame etc. (injure) 659; spike guns, clip the wings; put out of gear.    ... meer laten zien

Nederlands: verwaarlozen

Be unsuccessful:
— Where do today's public schools fail?.
— The attempt to rescue the hostages failed miserably.

synoniemen: go wrong, miscarry.

Roget 732: fail; be unsuccessful etc. adj.; not succeed etc. 731; make vain efforts etc. n.; do in vain, labor in vain, toil in vain; flunk [U.S.]; lose one's labor, take nothing by one's motion; bring to naught, make nothing of; wash a blackamoor white etc. (impossible) 471; roll the stones of Sisyphus etc. (useless) 645; do by halves etc. (not complete) 730; lose ground etc. (recede) 282; fall short of etc. 304.    miss, miss one's aim, miss the mark, miss one's footing, miss stays; slip, trip, stumble; make a slip etc. n.. blunder etc. 495, make a mess of, make a botch of; bitch it^†, miscarry, abort, go up like a rocket and come down like the stick, come down in flames, get shot down, reckon without one's host; get the wrong pig by the tail, get the wrong sow by the ear etc. (blunder), )mismanage) 699.    limp, halt, hobble, titubate^†; fall, tumble; lose one's balance; fall to the ground, fall between two stools; flounder, falter, stick in the mud, run aground, split upon a rock; beat one's head against a stone wall, run one's head against a stone wall, knock one's head against a stone wall, dash one's head against a stone wall; break one's back; break down, sink, drown, founder, have the ground cut from under one; get into trouble, get into a mess, get into a scrape; come to grief etc. (adversity) 735; go to the wall, go to the dogs, go to pot; lick the dust, bite the dust; be defeated etc. 731; have the worst of it, lose the day, come off second best, lose; fall a prey to; succumb etc. (submit) 725; not have a leg to stand on.    come to nothing, end in smoke; flat out^†; fall to the ground, fall through, fall dead, fall stillborn, fall flat; slip through one's fingers; hang fire, miss fire; flash in the pan, collapse; topple down etc. (descent) 305; go to wrack and ruin etc. (destruction) 162.    go amiss, go wrong, go cross, go hard with, go on a wrong tack; go on ill, come off ill, turn out ill, work ill; take a wrong term, take an ugly term; take an ugly turn, take a turn for the worse.    be all over with, be all up with; explode; dash one's hopes etc. (disappoint) 509; defeat the purpose; sow the wind and reap the whirlwind, jump out of the frying pan into the fire, go from the frying pan into the fire.    ... meer laten zien

Nederlands: falen, floppen, knallen, misgaan, mislopen, mislukken, negeren, scheeflopen, stuklopen

Disappoint, prove undependable to; abandon, forsake:
— His sense of smell failed him this time.
— His strength finally failed him.
— His children failed him in the crisis.

synoniem: betray.

Nederlands: onthullen, verspreken

Stop operating or functioning:
— The engine failed on the way to town.

synoniemen: break, break down, conk out, die, give out, give way, go, go bad.

Roget 160: be weak etc. adj.; drop, crumble, give way, totter, tremble, shake, halt, limp, fade, languish, decline, flag, fail, have one leg in the grave.    render weak etc. adj.; weaken, enfeeble, debilitate, shake, deprive of strength, relax, enervate, eviscerate; unbrace, unnerve; cripple, unman etc. (render powerless) 158; cramp, reduce, sprain, strain, blunt the edge of; dilute, impoverish; decimate; extenuate; reduce in strength, reduce the strength of; mettre de l'eau dans son vin [Fr.].    ... meer laten zien

Roget 808: not pay etc. 807; fail, break, stop payment; become insolvent, become bankrupt; be gazetted.    protest, dishonor, repudiate, nullify, refuse payment.    pay under protest; button up one's pockets, draw the purse strings; apply the sponge; pay over the left shoulder, get whitewashed; swindle etc. 791; run up bills, fly kites.    ... meer laten zien

Roget 479: confute, refute, disprove; parry, negative, controvert, rebut, confound, disconfirm, redargue^†, expose, show the fallacy of, defeat; demolish, break etc. (destroy) 162; overthrow, overturn scatter to the winds, explode, invalidate; silence; put to silence, reduce to silence; clinch an argument, clinch a question; give one a setdown^†, stop the mouth, shut up; have, have on the hip.    not leave a leg to stand on, cut the ground from under one's feet.    be confuted &c.; fail; expose one's weak point, show one's weak point.    counter evidence etc. 468.    ... meer laten zien

Roget 304: 303, come short of, fall short of, stop short of, come short, fall short, stop short; not reach; want; keep within bounds, keep within the mark, keep within the compass.    break down, stick in the mud, collapse, flat out [U.S.], come to nothing; fall through, fall to the ground; cave in, end in smoke, miss the mark, fail; lose ground; miss stays.    ... meer laten zien

Nederlands: overlijden, het laten afweten, afslaan, afspringen

Be unable.

Judge unacceptable.

Fail to get a passing grade:
— She studied hard but failed nevertheless.
— Did I fail the test?.

synoniemen: bomb, flunk, flush it.

Nederlands: buizen, mankeren, zakken

Fall short in what is expected.

Become bankrupt or insolvent; fail financially and close.

Prove insufficient:
— The water supply for the town failed after a long drought.

synoniemen: give out, run out.

Get worse.