Failure refers to the state or condition of not meeting a required standard or objective, often resulting from insufficient effort, quality, or success in a given endeavor. It can describe plural instances of not achieving a goal, or a process characterized by repeated setbacks. In everyday use, it also denotes a lack of success or effectiveness in achieving intended outcomes.
"Her project ended in failure after several critical errors were discovered."
"Despite intensive training, the team faced failure in the championship final."
"The software update led to system failure and widespread outages."
"He took the failure personally, but it sparked a push to improve."
The word failure derives from the Old French faute, meaning ‘a fault’ or ‘a mistake,’ ultimately tracing to the Latin vadata or fallere, meaning ‘to deceive’ or ‘to fail.’ In Middle English, failure evolved to denote lack of success in accomplishing a task. The Latin root fallere, meaning ‘to deceive’ or ‘to err,’ contributed to senses of incomplete achievement or shortcoming; through Old French faute and Anglo-Norman fail, the term began to mean unsuccessful action or outcome. By the 14th–15th centuries, legal and scholastic contexts used failure to describe non-fulfillment of obligations or duties. In the modern era, failure broadens to describe any unsuccessful result, including systems, plans, and personal performance, often carrying emotional or evaluative weight. The word’s semantic field shifted from a concrete defect to a more abstract, evaluative judgment about outcomes, while retaining ties to fault, flaw, and non-fulfillment across domains.
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Words that rhyme with "Failure"
-ure sounds
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Pronounced as /ˈfeɪ.ljər/ in US and /ˈfeɪ.ljə(r)/ in UK/AU. Stress falls on the first syllable: FAI-yer. The second syllable contains a mid-central vowel or schwa combined with a lightly pronounced -r in rhotic varieties. Keep the /l/ light and the /j/ as a palatal approximant in the second syllable: “feɪ-ljər.” Visualize saying ‘fay’ then quickly glide into ‘yer’ with the tongue lightly touching the palate for the /j/ before an optional rhotic ending in American English.
Two common errors are: 1) Flattening the vowel in the first syllable to a plain /e/ or /eɪ/ without the proper glide, producing something like FE-leur; fix by prolonging the diphthong /eɪ/ and then releasing into a clear /l/ and /j/ sequence. 2) Attaching a strong final /ɹ/ or mispronouncing the second syllable as /ər/ instead of a reduced /ə(r)/; practice with a light schwa and a post-alveolar rhotic ending only if your accent requires it. Use the IPA /ˈfeɪ.ljər/ (US) and practice the subtle /j/ transition.”},{
In US English, /ˈfeɪ.ljər/ with rhotic final /ɹ/ is common; an audible r coloring occurs. In UK English, /ˈfeɪ.ljə/ ends with a non-rhotic schwa, so the second syllable is lighter: /ˈfeɪ.ljə/. Australian English follows a similar non-rhotic pattern to UK but often with a slightly more centralized vowel in the second syllable and a softer /ɹ/; many speakers reduce /ljə/ to /ljə/ with reduced vocalization and less pronounced final rhotic. Overall, the main differences lie in rhoticity and vowel quality of the second syllable; US tends to preserve /ɹ/ strongly, UK/AU reduce it.
Key challenges include the /ɪ/ vs /eɪ/ diphthong in the first syllable and the /lj/ cluster linking the /l/ and /j/ sounds into the second syllable. The sequence /lj/ is a palatalized consonant cluster that some speakers gloss over, turning it into /l/ or /j/ vowels only. Additionally, the ending /ər/ or /ə/ can be reduced differently by accents, making the final syllable tricky in connected speech. Focus on maintaining the /eɪ/ glide and the /lj/ link for clarity.
A distinctive feature is the fast, tight transition from the long vowel /eɪ/ to the palatal approximant /j/ in the second syllable, forming the /lj/ cluster before the schwa. This subtle movement—glide from /eɪ/ into /lj/—creates the familiar “fay-yer” sound with a gentle, almost imperceptible /l/ onset before the /j/. In careful speech, you’ll hear a clean /lj/ sequence rather than a simplified /lɚ/ or /lɚ/ ending.
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