failing

F4A1I1L1I1N1G2
US/ˈfeɪ.lɪŋ/

noun

weakness; defect

“His worst failing is his temper.”

Opposite
CommonScrabble 11

Meanings

failing1

verb
  1. 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
nounfailing (plural failings)

plural failings

  1. 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 15

    Synonyms: trouble, shortcoming

preposition
  1. 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

proper nounFailing (plural Failings)

plural Failings

Synonyms & antonyms

nounweakness; defect

More synonyms by meaning

adjectivebelow acceptable in performance

nouna flaw or weak point

Similar

nounfailure to reach a minimum required performance

Similar
Opposite
Broader

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

All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

failing. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/failing

MLA

“failing.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/failing. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “failing,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/failing.

Source: failing on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.