FAILURE

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does failure mean? 

• FAILURE (noun)
  The noun FAILURE has 7 senses:

1. an act that fails

2. an event that does not accomplish its intended purpose

3. lack of success

4. a person with a record of failing; someone who loses consistently

5. an unexpected omission

6. inability to discharge all your debts as they come due

7. loss of ability to function normally

  Familiarity information: FAILURE used as a noun is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• FAILURE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

An act that fails

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Context example:

his failure to pass the test

Hypernyms ("failure" is a kind of...):

nonaccomplishment; nonachievement (an act that does not achieve its intended goal)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "failure"):

failing; flunk (failure to reach a minimum required performance)

naught (complete failure)

loss (the act of losing someone or something)

backsliding; lapse; lapsing; relapse; relapsing; reversion; reverting (a failure to maintain a higher state)

error; misplay ((baseball) a failure of a defensive player to make an out when normal play would have sufficed)

out ((baseball) a failure by a batter or runner to reach a base safely in baseball)

nonconformance; nonconformity (failure to conform to accepted standards of behavior)

default; nonpayment; nonremittal (act of failing to meet a financial obligation)

Derivation:

fail (be unsuccessful)

Sense 2

Meaning:

An event that does not accomplish its intended purpose

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural events

Context example:

the surprise party was a complete failure

Hypernyms ("failure" is a kind of...):

happening; natural event; occurrence; occurrent (an event that happens)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "failure"):

misfire; miss (a failure to hit (or meet or find etc))

defeat; licking (an unsuccessful ending to a struggle or contest)

breakdown; equipment failure (a cessation of normal operation)

malformation; miscreation (something abnormal or anomalous)

bust; fizzle; flop (a complete failure)

abortion; miscarriage (failure of a plan)

malfunction (a failure to function normally)

flame-out (a complete or conspicuous failure)

downfall; ruin; ruination (failure that results in a loss of position or reputation)

Antonym:

success (an event that accomplishes its intended purpose)

Derivation:

fail (fall short in what is expected)

fail (be unsuccessful)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Lack of success

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Context example:

that year there was a crop failure

Hypernyms ("failure" is a kind of...):

circumstances; destiny; fate; fortune; lot; luck; portion (your overall circumstances or condition in life (including everything that happens to you))

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "failure"):

bankruptcy (a state of complete lack of some abstract property)

bank failure (the inability of a bank to meet its credit obligations)

crop failure (the failure of crops to produce a marketable surplus)

dead duck (something doomed to failure)

Antonym:

success (a state of prosperity or fame)

Derivation:

fail (be unsuccessful)

Sense 4

Meaning:

A person with a record of failing; someone who loses consistently

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

failure; loser; nonstarter; unsuccessful person

Hypernyms ("failure" is a kind of...):

unfortunate; unfortunate person (a person who suffers misfortune)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "failure"):

bankrupt; insolvent (someone who has insufficient assets to cover their debts)

flash in the pan (someone who enjoys transient success but then fails)

dud; flop; washout (someone who is unsuccessful)

underdog (one at a disadvantage and expected to lose)

Derivation:

fail (be unsuccessful)

Sense 5

Meaning:

An unexpected omission

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Context example:

the mechanic's failure to check the brakes

Hypernyms ("failure" is a kind of...):

omission; skip (a mistake resulting from neglect)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "failure"):

breach (a failure to perform some promised act or obligation)

copout (a failure to face some difficulty squarely)

dashing hopes; disappointment (an act (or failure to act) that disappoints someone)

Derivation:

fail (fail to do something; leave something undone)

Sense 6

Meaning:

Inability to discharge all your debts as they come due

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Synonyms:

bankruptcy; failure

Context example:

fraudulent loans led to the failure of many banks

Hypernyms ("failure" is a kind of...):

insolvency (the lack of financial resources)

Derivation:

fail (become bankrupt or insolvent; fail financially and close)

Sense 7

Meaning:

Loss of ability to function normally

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Context example:

kidney failure

Hypernyms ("failure" is a kind of...):

disorder; upset (a physical condition in which there is a disturbance of normal functioning)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "failure"):

coronary failure; heart failure (inability of the heart to pump enough blood to sustain normal bodily functions)

kidney failure; renal failure (inability of the kidneys to excrete wastes and to help maintain the electrolyte balance)

Derivation:

fail (stop operating or functioning)

 Context examples 

Failure of the smooth muscle fibers of the gastrointestinal tract to relax at any one point of junction of one part with another.

(Achalasia, NCI Thesaurus)

A combination of heart cells derived from human stem cells could be the answer to developing a desperately-needed treatment for heart failure, according to new research by scientists at the University of Cambridge.

(New stem cell combination could help to repair damaged hearts, University of Cambridge)

Mice with heart failure that were treated for six weeks with the molecule showed not only that the disease had been stabilized—as usual with present-day medications—but also the improvement in condition.

(Molecule created in Brazil helps fight heart failure, Agência Brasil)

Life-threatening respiratory failure that develops rapidly.

(Acute Respiratory Failure, NCI Thesaurus)

They include vomiting, hypoglycemia, lethargy, hypotonia and failure to thrive.

(Acyl-CoA Dehydrogenase, Short-Chain Deficiency, NCI Thesaurus)

Clinical signs are usually not present at birth but develop within the first two years of life and include hypoglycemia from underlying liver dysfunction, failure to thrive, spasticity, myoclonus and seizures.

(Alper Syndrome, NCI Thesaurus)

If left untreated, the parasitic infection causes anemia, heart, kidney, and endocrine failure, and neurologic damage.

(African Trypanosomiasis, NCI Thesaurus)

Elevated ADRBK1 gene expression is associated with impaired cardiac function and heart failure.

(ADRBK1 wt Allele, NCI Thesaurus)

Select polymorphisms of the gene have been shown to affect resting heart rate function and if dysregulated, can be involved in heart failure.

(ADRB1 wt Allele, NCI Thesaurus)

Kidney transplantation, on the other hand, is necessary when these patients reach terminal stages of renal failure, an expected chronic complication of MMA.

(Elevated hormone flags liver problems in mice with methylmalonic acidemia, National Institutes of Health)