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failure

Did you mean: failure, Failure (Rock Band, '90s), Failure (band), Failure (1988 Album by The Posies), Failure (King Missile album), Failure (song), Structural failure More...

 
Dictionary: fail·ure   (fāl'yər) pronunciation
 
n.
  1. The condition or fact of not achieving the desired end or ends: the failure of an experiment.
  2. One that fails: a failure at one's career.
  3. The condition or fact of being insufficient or falling short: a crop failure.
  4. A cessation of proper functioning or performance: a power failure.
  5. Nonperformance of what is requested or expected; omission: failure to report a change of address.
  6. The act or fact of failing to pass a course, test, or assignment.
  7. A decline in strength or effectiveness.
  8. The act or fact of becoming bankrupt or insolvent.

[Alteration of failer, default, from Anglo-Norman, from Old French faillir, to fail. See fail.]


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Thesaurus: failure
 

noun

  1. The condition of not achieving the desired end: unsuccess, unsuccessfulness. See thrive/fail/exist.
  2. One that fails completely: bust, fiasco, loser, washout. Informal dud, flop, lemon. Slang bomb. See thrive/fail/exist.
  3. A cessation of proper mechanical functions: breakdown, outage. See thrive/fail/exist.
  4. Nonperformance of what ought to be done: default, delinquency, dereliction, neglect, omission. Law nonfeasance. See do/not do.
  5. A marked loss of strength or effectiveness: declination, decline, deterioration. See increase/decrease.
  6. The condition of being financially insolvent: bankruptcy, bust, insolvency. See money.

 
Antonyms: failure
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n

Definition: lack of success
Antonyms: accomplishment, achievement, attainment, earnings, gain, merit, success, win

n

Definition: person who does not succeed
Antonyms: achiever, success


 
Dental Dictionary: failure
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n

A deficiency; an inefficiency as measured by some legal standard; an unsuccessful attempt.

 
Architecture: failure
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In structural engineering, that condition of a structural element (or its material components) which renders it incapable of continuing the load-carrying function for which it was designed; may be caused by fracture or by excessive and permanent plastic deformation.


 

In mechanics, the inability to perform a function.

 

Inability to perform or to function properly.

  • f. to conceive — said of cows which return to estrus after mating.
  • kidney f. — see renal failure.
  • f. of passive transfer — see maternal immunity.
  • respiratory f. — called also ventilatory failure; see respiratory failure.
  • f. to thrive — used generally to describe young animals which are not gaining weight or growing; can be due to disease or management problems. In llamas, used to describe a specific syndrome in which the young are normal in early age, but later stop growing. Rickets is one possible cause, but there may be others.
 
Word Tutor: failure
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pronunciation

IN BRIEF: A lack of success.

pronunciation There is no failure except in no longer trying. — Elbert Hubbard (1856-1915).

 
Quotes About: Failure
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Quotes:

"Failure is a detour, not a dead-end street." - Zig Ziglar

"The season of failure is the best time for sowing the seeds of success." - Paramahansa Yogananda

"Failure is not fatal, but failure to change might be." - John Wooden

"If all this happened to you what paradigm might you develop? How might that paradigm affect you in terms of your life from that point on? What does this tell you about Abe? There are no failures, only lessons to be learned." - Oprah Winfrey

"Think like a queen. A queen is not afraid to fail. Failure is another steppingstone to greatness." - Oprah Winfrey

"You can give in to the failure messages and be a bitter deadbeat of excuses. Or you can choose to be happy and positive and excited about life." - A.L. Williams

See more famous quotes about Failure

 
Dream Symbol: Failure
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Dreaming about failing, in school or in some task, may simply be an expression of anxiety (i.e., it is not a sign predicting that someone will fail). People who regularly dream of failing are often perfectionists.


 
Wikipedia: Failure
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Train wreck at Montparnasse, France, depicting a failure. 1895

Failure refers to the state or condition of not meeting a desirable or intended objective, and may be viewed as the opposite of success. Product failure ranges from failure to sell the product to fracture of the product, in the worst cases leading to personal injury, the province of forensic engineering.

Contents

Criteria for failure

The criteria for failure are heavily dependent on context of use, and may be relative to a particular observer or belief system. A situation considered to be a failure by one might be considered a success by another, particularly in cases of direct competition or a zero-sum game. Similarly, the degree of success or failure in a situation may be differently viewed by distinct observers or participants, such that a situation that one considers to be a failure, another might consider to be a success, a qualified success or a neutral situation.

It may also be difficult or impossible to ascertain whether a situation meets criteria for failure or success due to ambiguous or ill-defined definition of those criteria. Finding useful and effective criteria, or heuristics, to judge the success or failure of a situation may itself be a significant task.

Types of failure

Failure can be differentially perceived from the viewpoints of the evaluators. A person who is only interested in the final outcome of an activity would consider it to be an Outcome Failure if the core issue has not been resolved or a core need is not met. A failure can also be a process failure whereby although the activity is completed successfully, a person may still feel dissatisfied if the underlying process is perceived to be below expected standard or benchmark.

  1. Failure to anticipate
  2. Failure to perceive
  3. Failure to carry out a task

Commercial failures

A commercial failure is a product that does not reach expectations of success.

Most of the items listed below had high expectations, significant financial investments, and/or widespread publicity, but fell far short of success. Due to the subjective nature of "success" and "meeting expectations", there can be disagreement about what constitutes a "major flop."

Internet meme

Adaptation of above image illustrating an Internet Meme

"Fail" is the name of a popular Internet meme where users superimpose the word "fail" or "epic fail" onto compromising photos or short videos.[1] The meme is widely believed to have come from the arcade game Blazing Star. When the player loses, the message "You fail it! Your skill is not enough! See you next time! Bye bye!" is shown.[2]

The term "miserable failure" has also been popularized as a result of a widely known "Google bombing", which caused Google searches for the term to turn up the White House biography of George W. Bush.[3]

See also

Further reading

References

  1. ^ Memes Help Keep Internet Interesting - Technology - redOrbit
  2. ^ Schofield, Jack (17 October 2008). "All your FAIL are belong to us". The Guardian Technology blog (Guardian News and Media Limited). http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/blog/2008/oct/17/2. 
  3. ^ http://www.snopes.com/politics/bush/google.asp

External links


 
Translations: Failure
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Dansk (Danish)
n. - fiasko, sammenbrud, forsømmelse, fallit, uheldigt udfald

Nederlands (Dutch)
mislukking, storing, nalatigheid, het uitblijven, onvermogen om normaal te functioneren, faillissement, tekort, mislukkeling, verval

Français (French)
n. - échec, (Fin) faillite, raté, panne, (Méd) défaillance, manquement à une promesse, (Jur) défaut de comparution (en justice), non-respect de la réglementation, (Agric) perte (de récolte)

Deutsch (German)
n. - Bankrott, Mißerfolg, Ausfall, Verschlechterung, Scheitern, Versager

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - αποτυχία (κν. φιάσκο), αποτυχημένος, αμέλεια, παράλειψη, διακοπή, βλάβη, έλλειψη, ανεπάρκεια, (οικον.) χρεοκοπία (κν. φαλιμέντο), αδυναμία εκτέλεσης ή εκπλήρωσης

Italiano (Italian)
fallimento, insuccesso, guasto, fallito

idioms:

  • failure of    fallimento di, guasto di

Português (Portuguese)
n. - falha (f)

idioms:

  • failure of    falha de

Русский (Russian)
провал, банкротство, невыполнение, повреждение

idioms:

  • failure of    провал

Español (Spanish)
n. - quiebra, fracaso, fallo, avería, fracasado

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - misslyckande

中文(简体)(Chinese (Simplified))
失败, 不足, 失败者

中文(繁體)(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 失敗, 不足, 失敗者

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 실패 , 태만, 불이행, 부족, 낙제, 지불 능력 상실

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 失敗, 落第, 失敗者, 失敗作, 不足, 怠慢, 不履行, …しないこと, 破産, 衰弱, 故障

idioms:

  • failure of    失敗

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) إخفاق , فشل‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮כישלון, חוסר, אי-ביצוע, אי-יכולת, פשיטת רגל‬


 
 

Did you mean: failure, Failure (Rock Band, '90s), Failure (band), Failure (1988 Album by The Posies), Failure (King Missile album), Failure (song), Structural failure More...


 

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