failure

/ˈfeɪ.ljə/

//ˈfeɪ.ljə// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"failure" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“failure” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #1,939. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#1,939
frequency rank, English
2,507
“F” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - State or condition of not meeting a desirable or intended objective, opposite of success.

Corpus desk

Index EN-failure · failure · English

failure · rank #1,939 · 9 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #1,939
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,507
  • PHOTO-FINISH facts

Nearest frequency peer: facts (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “failure”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “failure” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

failure vs figure
71% similar
failure vs failures
88% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for failure
PropertyValue
Headwordfailure
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈfeɪ.ljə/
Letters7
Frequency rank#1,939
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “failure”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).failurelands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “facts” (#1,938), “festival” (#1,940), “entirely” (#1,937). Among 2,507 “F” headwords, “failure” is #1,939. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around failure (IPA /ˈfeɪ.ljə/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #1,939 among 2,507 “F” headwords. Wiktionary lists 6 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for failure, with forms such as "afilure", "faillure", and "failrue". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "figure", "failures", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Anglo-Norman failer, from Old French faillir (“to fail”). Equivalent to fail + -ure. The correct English form is failure, spelled F-A-I-L-U-R-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    State or condition of not meeting a desirable or intended objective, opposite of success.
  2. 2
    State or condition of not meeting a desirable or intended objective, opposite of success.
  3. 3
    Omission to do something, whether or not it was attempted, especially something that ought to have been done.
  4. 4
    An object, person or endeavour in a state of failure, has failed at something or incapable of success.
  5. 5
    Termination of the ability of an item to perform its required function; breakdown.
  6. 6
    Bankruptcy.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how failure appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. For Liverpool, their season will now be regarded as a relative disappointment after failure to add the FA Cup to the Carling Cup and not mounting a challenge to reach the Champions League places.
  2. Sarkozy's total will be seen as a personal failure. It is the first time an outgoing president has failed to win a first-round vote in the past 50 years and makes it harder for Sarkozy to regain momentum.

Etymology

From Anglo-Norman failer, from Old French faillir (“to fail”). Equivalent to fail + -ure.

Synonyms

failloser

Antonyms

successtriumph

This word in other languages

fallo(Español)échec(Français)Misserfolg(Deutsch)fracasso(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • afilure
  • faillure
  • failrue
  • failuer
  • failurre
  • faiulre
  • faliure
  • ffailure
  • fialure

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of failure - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

afilure2faillure1failrue2failuer2failurre1faiulre2faliure2ffailure1
Edit distance from "failure"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "failure"?
"failure" is spelled F-A-I-L-U-R-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈfeɪ.ljə/.
What does "failure" mean?
As a noun, "failure" means: State or condition of not meeting a desirable or intended objective, opposite of success.
What words are commonly confused with "failure"?
"failure" is commonly confused with "figure", "failures". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "failure"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "failure" is /ˈfeɪ.ljə/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "failure"?
From Anglo-Norman failer, from Old French faillir (“to fail”). Equivalent to fail + -ure. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "failure", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

entered#1,936clothes#1,932classic#1,931initial#1,947

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

matters9 variantspicked9 variantsprince9 variantsproper9 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list