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1. An act that fails
   "his failure to pass the test"
    
2. An event that does not accomplish its intended purpose
   "the surprise party was a complete failure"
    
3. Lack of success
   "he felt that his entire life had been a failure"; "that year there was a crop failure"
    
4. A person with a record of failing; someone who loses consistently
   - loser, nonstarter, unsuccessful person, no-hoper [informal]
    
5. An unexpected omission
   "he resented my failure to return his call"; "the mechanic's failure to check the brakes"
    
6. Inability to discharge all your debts as they come due
   "fraudulent loans led to the failure of many banks";
   - bankruptcy
    
7. Loss of ability to function normally
   "kidney failure"

Derived forms: failures

Type of: circs [Brit, informal], circumstances, destiny, disorder, fate, fortune, happening, insolvency, lot, luck, natural event, nonaccomplishment, nonachievement, occurrence, occurrent, omission, portion, skip, unfortunate, unfortunate person, upset

Antonym: success

Encyclopedia: Failure