Meanings
failing1
- gerundparticiplepresentpresent participle and gerund of fail
As we breasted the first summit, the precipitous mass of the Raven's Rock, towering some 250 ft. above the railway, looked grim and forbidding in the failing light, and distant Ben Wyves was shrouded in mist.
1951 January, H. A. Vallance, “Kyle of Lochalsh Revisited”, in Railway Magazine, page 14
plural failings
- weakness; defect
His worst failing is his temper.
1 more example
At the High Court in Aberdeen in September, NR pleaded guilty to a series of failings, including failing to tell the driver that it was unsafe to drive the train at the 75mph line speed.
2023 October 18, “Network News: Carmont: NR pays nearly £1m in out-of-court settlements”, in RAIL, number 994, page 15Synonyms: trouble, shortcoming
- If what follows is not possible; without.
A large proportion of the females employed in other firms are said to have signified their intention of going on strike, failing a settlement.
Failing2
Synonyms & antonyms
nounweakness; defect
More synonyms by meaning
adjectivebelow acceptable in performance
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Translations
Arabic فِي حَال عَدَم حُدُوث
- فِي حَال عَدَم حُدُوث (fī ḥāl ʕadam ḥudūṯ)if not possible
Bulgarian недостатък, грешка
- недостатък (nedostatăk)defect
- грешка (greška)defect
- ако не (ako ne)if not possible
- в отсъствие на (v otsăstvie na)if not possible
German Schwäche, Mangel
- Schwächedefect
- Mangeldefect
- Fehlerdefect
- Unzulänglichkeitdefect
- Defizitdefect
- mangelsif not possible
- in Ermangelungif not possible
- ohneif not possible
Irish laige
- laigedefect
Romanian defect
- defectdefect
Spanish falta, defecto
- faltadefect
- defectodefect
- lacradefect
- a falta deif not possible
Swedish fel, brist
- feldefect
- bristdefect
- svaghetdefect
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with failing
Cite this entry
failing. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/failing
“failing.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/failing. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “failing,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/failing.
Source: failing on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.