failure

Forms

1.State or condition of not meeting a desirable or intended objective, opposite of success.
- For Liverpool, their season will now be regarded as a relative disappointment after failure to add the FA Cup to the Carling Cup and not mounting a challenge to reach the Champions League places.
- What exactly is a "successful failure" in rocket science? A so-called "successful failure" is one where important lessons can be gleaned for future tests and where the risks of harm are low, experts say.
- Sarkozy's total will be seen as a personal failure. It is the first time an outgoing president has failed to win a first-round vote in the past 50 years and makes it harder for Sarkozy to regain momentum.
2.Omission to do something, whether or not it was attempted, especially something that ought to have been done.
- Aren't you tired of being a failure?
- What will happen if there's a power failure now?
3.Termination of the ability of an item to perform its required function; breakdown.
- But as with individual train failures you have to tackle every one as it arises and assume it will happen again, which it will, if you don't do something about it.
4.An object, person or endeavour in a state of failure, has failed at something or incapable of success.
- Aren't you tired of being a failure?
- What will happen if there's a power failure now?

Common· #1403

From Anglo-Norman failer, from Old French faillir (“to fail”).

Equivalent to fail + -ure.