failure (noun)

an act that fails

"his failure to pass the test"

failure (noun)

an event that does not accomplish its intended purpose

"the surprise party was a complete failure"

failure (noun)

lack of success

"he felt that his entire life had been a failure"; "that year there was a crop failure"

failure, loser, nonstarter, unsuccessful person (noun)

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

failure (noun)

an unexpected omission

"he resented my failure to return his call"; "the mechanic's failure to check the brakes"

bankruptcy, failure (noun)

inability to discharge all your debts as they come due

"the company had to declare bankruptcy"; "fraudulent loans led to the failure of many banks"

failure (noun)

loss of ability to function normally

"kidney failure"

failure (Noun)

State or condition of not meeting a desirable or intended objective, opposite of success.

failure (Noun)

An object, person or endeavour in a state of failure or incapable of success.

failure (Noun)

Termination of the ability of an item to perform its required function, breakdown.

Failure

Failure is 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.

Failure

Failure is the state or condition of not meeting a desirable or intended objective, and may be viewed as the opposite of success. The criteria for failure depends on context, and may be relative to a particular observer or belief system. One person might consider a failure what another person considers a success, 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.