failure

fail|ure [ `feıljər ] noun ***

1. ) count or uncount a lack of success in doing something:

I'm too proud to admit failure.

failure of: The failure of the talks has made the situation worse.

end/result in failure: Their first attempt to climb Everest ended in failure.

failure to do something: She is depressed by her continued failure to find a job.

─ opposite SUCCESS

a ) a situation in which you do not do something that someone expects you to do:

failure to do something: Failure to comply with the rules can result in expulsion.

failure of: He was angry about the failure of the U.N. to intervene in the crisis.

2. ) count someone or something that has not achieved success:

She had to admit that it had all been a total failure.

I feel like such a failure.

─ opposite SUCCESS

3. ) count or uncount a situation in which something such as a machine or an organ in your body stops working correctly:

engine/brake/power failure: The crash seems to have been caused by an engine failure.

heart/liver/kidney failure: He died from liver failure.

a ) a situation in which a business cannot continue operating:

Business failures soared by more than a third in the second half of this year.

b ) a situation in which crops do not finish growing, so that they cannot be used for food

4. ) count or uncount a sudden loss of a particular quality or ability, especially in a difficult situation:

a failure of imagination

a ) a sense of humor failure a situation in which you are unable to see that something is funny