Meanings
plural failed states
- governmentA state that has failed to meet the basic conditions and responsibilities of a sovereign government; one that has lost physical control of its territory, the ability to provide public services, etc.
Against these stand the four national security arguments for intervention: fear of a rogue state, fear of a failed state, fear for the neighbours and fear for ourselves.
2011, Rory Stewart, “Here we go again”, in London Review of Books, 33.VII1 more example
In July, the prime minister of the Bahamas, Philip Davis, called Haiti a “failed state,” and told local media that Caribbean leaders are considering opening direct talks with Haitian gang leaders to solve the country’s political crisis.
2022 September 16, Milo Milfort, Anatoly Kurmanaev, Andre Paultre, “Fuel Hike Plunges Haiti Into Near Anarchy”, in The New York Times, →ISSN
Origin
Initially applied to Somalia in the 1990s.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Afrikaans mislukte staat
- mislukte staattype of state
Basque egindako estatu
- egindako estatutype of state
Catalan estat fallit
- estat fallittype of state
Chinese Mandarin 失敗國家 /失败国家
- 失敗國家 /失败国家 (shībài guójiā)type of state
Danish fejlslagen stat
- fejlslagen stattype of state
Dutch mislukte staat
- mislukte staattype of state
Finnish epäonnistunut valtio
- epäonnistunut valtiotype of state
French État en déliquescence, État failli
- État en déliquescencetype of state
- État faillitype of state
German gescheiterter Staat
- gescheiterter Staattype of state
Greek αποτυχημένο κράτος
- αποτυχημένο κράτος (apotychiméno krátos)type of state
Italian stato fallito
- stato fallitotype of state
Norwegian mislykket stat
- mislykket stattype of state
Polish państwo upadłe
- państwo upadłetype of state
Portuguese estado falido, estado falhado
- estado falidotype of state
- estado falhadotype of state
Russian несостоя́вшееся госуда́рство, фейл стейт
- несостоя́вшееся госуда́рство (nesostojávšejesja gosudárstvo)type of state
- фейл стейт (fejl stejt)type of state
Spanish estado fallido
- estado fallidotype of state
Swedish sviktande stat
- sviktande stattype of state
Vietnamese nhà nước thất bại
- nhà nước thất bạitype of state
Cite this entry
failed state. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/failed%20state
“failed state.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/failed%20state. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “failed state,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/failed%20state.
Source: failed state on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.