Fall vs Fail - What's the difference?
fall | fail |
To move downwards.
#To move to a lower position under the effect of gravity.
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#*
#*:There was a neat hat-and-umbrella stand, and the stranger's weary feet fell soft on a good, serviceable dark-red drugget, which matched in colour the flock-paper on the walls.
#To come down, to drop or descend.
#:
#*1920 , (Herman Cyril McNeile), (Bulldog Drummond) , Ch.1:
#*:Her eyes fell on the table, and she advanced into the room wiping her hands on her apron.
#To come to the ground deliberately, to prostrate oneself.
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#To be brought to the ground.
(lb) To be moved downwards.
#(lb) To let fall; to drop.
#*(William Shakespeare) (1564-1616)
#*:For every tear he falls , a Trojan bleeds.
#(lb) To sink; to depress.
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# To fell; to cut down.
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(lb) To happen, to change negatively.
#(lb) To become.
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#To occur (on a certain day of the week, date, or similar); (said of an instance of a recurring event such as a holiday or date).
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#(lb) To collapse; to be overthrown or defeated.
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# To die, especially in battle or by disease.
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#(lb) To become lower (in quantity, pitch, etc.).
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#*Sir (c.1569-1626)
#*:The greatness of these Irish lords suddenly fell and vanished.
#*1835 , Sir , Sir (James Clark Ross),
#*:Towards the following morning, the thermometer fell to 5°; and at daylight, there was not an atom of water to be seen in any direction.
#*{{quote-magazine, date=2013-07-20, volume=408, issue=8845, magazine=(The Economist)
, title= #(lb) To become; to be affected by or befallen with a calamity; to change into the state described by words following; to become prostrated literally or figuratively .
#:
(lb) To be allotted to; to arrive through chance, fate, or inheritance.
:
*(Alexander Pope) (1688-1744)
*:If to her share some female errors fall , / Look on her face, and you'll forget them all.
To diminish; to lessen or lower.
* (John Locke) (1632-1705)
*:Upon lessening interest to four per cent, you fall the price of your native commodities.
To bring forth.
:
:(Shakespeare)
To issue forth into life; to be brought forth; said of the young of certain animals.
:(Shakespeare)
To descend in character or reputation; to become degraded; to sink into vice, error, or sin.
*(Bible)}, (w) iv.11:
*:Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.
To become ensnared or entrapped; to be worse off than before.
:
To assume a look of shame or disappointment; to become or appear dejected; said of the face.
*(Bible), (w) iv.5:
*:Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell .
*(Joseph Addison) (1672–1719)
*:I have observed of late thy looks are fallen .
To happen; to come to pass; to chance or light (upon).
*(Jonathan Swift) (1667–1745)
*:The Romans fell on this model by chance.
*(Bible), (w) iii.18:
*:Sit still, my daughter, until thou know how the matter will fall .
*(Herbert Spenser) (1820-1903)
*:Primitive mendo not make laws, they fall into customs.
To begin with haste, ardour, or vehemence; to rush or hurry.
:
*(Benjamin Jowett) (1817-1893) ((Thucydides))
*:They now no longer doubted, but fell to work heart and soul.
To be dropped or uttered carelessly.
:
The act of moving to a lower position under the effect of gravity.
A reduction in quantity, pitch, etc.
*
*:“I'm through with all pawn-games,” I laughed. “Come, let us have a game of lansquenet. Either I will take a farewell fall out of you or you will have your sevenfold revenge”.
A loss of greatness or status.
(label) A crucial event or circumstance.
# The action of a batsman being out.
# (label) A defect in the ice which causes stones thrown into an area to drift in a given direction.
# (label) An instance of a wrestler being pinned to the mat.
Blame or punishment for a failure or misdeed.
The part of the rope of a tackle to which the power is applied in hoisting.
See'' falls'''
An old Scots unit of measure equal to six ells.
fall]
(label) To be unsuccessful.
* {{quote-magazine, date=2013-08-10, volume=408, issue=8848, magazine=(The Economist)
, title= (label) Not to achieve a particular stated goal. (Usage note: The direct object of this word is usually an infinitive.)
(label) To neglect.
To cease to operate correctly.
(label) To be wanting to, to be insufficient for, to disappoint, to desert.
* Bible, 1 Kings ii. 4
* 1843 , (Thomas Carlyle), '', book 3, ch. II, ''Gospel of Mammonism
*
, title=The Mirror and the Lamp
, chapter=2 (label) To receive one or more non-passing grades in academic pursuits.
(label) To give a student a non-passing grade in an academic endeavour.
To miss attaining; to lose.
* Milton
To be wanting; to fall short; to be or become deficient in any measure or degree up to total absence.
* Bible, Job xiv. 11
* Shakespeare
(archaic) To be affected with want; to come short; to lack; to be deficient or unprovided; used with of .
* Berke
(archaic) To fall away; to become diminished; to decline; to decay; to sink.
* Milton
(archaic) To deteriorate in respect to vigour, activity, resources, etc.; to become weaker.
(obsolete) To perish; to die; used of a person.
* Shakespeare
(obsolete) To err in judgment; to be mistaken.
* Milton
To become unable to meet one's engagements; especially, to be unable to pay one's debts or discharge one's business obligation; to become bankrupt or insolvent.
(uncountable) (label) Poor quality; substandard workmanship.
(label) A failure (condition of being unsuccessful)
A failure (something incapable of success)
A failure, especially of a financial transaction (a termination of an action).
A failing grade in an academic examination.
In transitive terms the difference between fall and fail
is that fall is to be allotted to; to arrive through chance, fate, or inheritance while fail is to give a student a non-passing grade in an academic endeavour.In obsolete terms the difference between fall and fail
is that fall is to sink; to depress while fail is to err in judgment; to be mistaken.In intransitive terms the difference between fall and fail
is that fall is to become lower (in quantity, pitch, etc.) while fail is to receive one or more non-passing grades in academic pursuits.In transitive obsolete terms the difference between fall and fail
is that fall is to bring forth while fail is to miss attaining; to lose.As verbs the difference between fall and fail
is that fall is To move downwards.fail is to be unsuccessful.As nouns the difference between fall and fail
is that fall is the act of moving to a lower position under the effect of gravity while fail is poor quality; substandard workmanship.As a proper noun Fall
is the sudden fall of humanity into a state of sin, as brought about by the transgression of Adam and Eve.As an adjective fail is
that is a failure.fall
English
(wikipedia fall)Verb
Narrative of a Second Voyage in Search of a North-west Passage …, Vol.1, pp.284-5:
Old soldiers?, passage=Whether modern, industrial man is less or more warlike than his hunter-gatherer ancestors is impossible to determine.
Quotations
* , Andrew Wi?e (publisher, 1598 — second quarto),Act V, Scene 3: *: Ghoa?t [of Clarence]. / To morrow in the battaile thinke on me, / And fall thy edgele??e ?word, di?paire and die.
Synonyms
* (move to a lower position under the effect of gravity) drop, plummet, plunge * (come down) come down, descend, drop * (come to the ground deliberately) drop, lower oneself, prostrate oneself * (be brought to the ground) * : be beaten by, be defeated by, be overthrown by, be smitten by, be vanquished by, * (die) die * (be allotted to) be the responsibility of, be up to * : dip, drop * (become) become, get * : cut down (of a tree), fell, knock down, knock over, strike downAntonyms
* (come down) ascend, go up, rise * (come to the ground deliberately) get up, pick oneself up, stand up * : beat, defeat, overthrow, smite, vanquish * : riseDerived terms
* the apple does not fall far from the tree * the * the curtain falls * fair fall * fallable * fall aboard * fall aboard of * fall about * fall about someone's ears * fall abreast of * fall abroad of * fall across * fall adown * fall afire * fall afoul * fall afoul of * fall after * fallage * fall all over someone or oneself * fall among * fall apart * fall asleep * fall aslope * fall astern * fall asunder * fall at * fall at the crest * fall at the first fence, fall at the first hurdle * fall away * fall back * * fall back on, fall back upon * fall behind, fall behindhand * fall between the cracks * fall between two stools * fall by * fall by the wayside * fall calm * fall dead * fall down * fall down on * fall due * fallen * faller * fall flat * fall flat on one's face * fall for * fall forth * fall foul * fall foul of, fall foul with * fall from * fall from grace * fall heir * fall home * fall ill * fall in * fall in age * fall in flesh * fall in for * falling * fall in line * fall in love * fall in mold, fall in mould * fall in one's road * fall in one's way * fall in somebody's heart, fall in someone's heart * fall in somebody's mind, fall in someone's mind * fall into one's hands * fall into one's lap * fall in two * fall in upon * fall in with * fall into * fall into line * fall into place * fall into somebody's heart, fall into someone's heart * fall into somebody's mind, fall into someone's mind * fall of * fall off * fall off the turnip truck * fall on * fall on board * fall on deaf ears * fall one's crest * fall on one's face * fall on one's feet * fall on shore * fall on sleep * fall on one's knees * fall on one's sword * fall on the crest * fall open * fall out * fall out in * fall out of * fall out upon * fall out with * fall over * fall over oneself * fall over one's feet * fall pregnant * fall prey to * fall short * fall short of * fall short to * fall sick * fall silent * fallstreaks, fallstreifen * fall through * fall through the cracks * fall to * fall to be * fall together * fall to loggerheads * fall to mold, fall to mould * fall to oneself * fall to one's knees * fall to one's lot * fall to one's share * fall to pieces * fall to powder * fall to the ground * fall under * fall unto * fall upon * fall victim to * fall what can fall, fall what will fall * fall with * fall within * foul fall * let fall * let the chips fall where they may * may fall, may-fall * misfall * overfall * the rain in Spain falls mainly in the plain * refall * tendency of the rate of profit to fall * to-fall * under-fall *Noun
(en noun)Synonyms
* (act of moving to a lower position) descent, drop * (reduction) decrease, dip, drop, lowering, reduction * (season) autumn * (loss of greatness or status) downfall * rapAntonyms
* (act of moving to a lower position under the effect of gravity) ascent, rise * (reduction) increase, rise * (loss of greatness or status) ascent, riseDerived terms
* accidental fall * angle of fall * ash fall, ashfall * backfall * best-of-three-falls match * block and fall * break a fall * break-fall, breakfall * break one's fall * byfall * catfall * center of falls, centre of falls * chainfall * crossfall * darkfall * dead fall, dead-fall, deadfall * dew-fall, dewfall * dog-fall, dogfall * downfall * dustfall * earthfall * even-fall, evenfall * fall-and-rise phenomenon * fall armyworm * fall and tackle * fall block, fall-block * fall-blooming * fall-board, fallboard * fall-breaker * fall-bridge * fall cankerworm * (Fall Classic) * fall-cloud * fall colors * fall dandelion * fall-door * fall duck * fall equinox * fall factor * fall-fish, fallfish * fall foliage * fall-forward * fall from grace * fall front * fall-front desk * fall guy, fall-guy * fall herring * fall-iron door * fall-leaf * fall-less * fall line, fall-line * fall money * The (Fall of Baghdad) * The (Fall of Constantinople) * fall of day * the (w) * the Fall of Man, the fall of man * The (Fall of Saigon) * fall of the leaf * fall of the perch * the (w), the (Fall of Rome) * fall of wicket * fall overturn * fall-pipe * fall-pippin * fall rate * fall-rise * fall-rope * fall-run fish * falls * (Falls-to-Falls Corridor) * fall time * fall-trap * fall turnover * fall-way * fall webworm * fall wind, fall-wind * fall-window * fall-wood * fally * fall zone * fish fall * foot-fall, footfall * free fall * give a fall * ice fall, ice-fall * infall * jaw-fall, jawfall * landfall * law-fall * leaf-fall * litterfall * mid-fall, midfall * misfall * mouse-fall * near-fall * nightfall * offal * onfall * outfall * overfall * parachute landing fall * pinfall * pitfall * planetfall * prat-fall, pratfall, pratt-fall * pressure-fall center, pressure-fall centre * pride comes before a fall, pride goes before a fall, pride goeth before a fall * proudfall * rainfall * ride for a fall * rises and falls * rock-fall, rockfall * roof fall * root-fall * shake a fall * shout-and-fall * slip and fall * smokefall * snow-fall, snowfall * speck falls * stiff board fall * sunfall * Swedish fall * tackle fall * take the fall * technical fall * terminal fall velocity * threadfall * throughfall * toe drain and outfall * trad fall * trap-fall, trapfall * try a fall * two-out-of-three-falls match * underfall * waterfall * whale fall * windfall * withfall * wrestle a fall * zipper fallSee also
* falls * [http://hea-www.harvard.edu/ECT/Words/fail
English
Verb
(en verb)A new prescription, passage=As the world’s drug habit shows, governments are failing in their quest to monitor every London window-box and Andean hillside for banned plants. But even that Sisyphean task looks easy next to the fight against synthetic drugs. No sooner has a drug been blacklisted than chemists adjust their recipe and start churning out a subtly different one.}}
- There shall not fail thee a man on the throne.
- A poor Irish Widow […] went forth with her three children, bare of all resource, to solicit help from the Charitable Establishments of that City. At this Charitable Establishment and then at that she was refused; referred from one to the other, helped by none; — till she had exhausted them all; till her strength and heart failed her: she sank down in typhus-fever […]
citation, passage=That the young Mr. Churchills liked—but they did not like him coming round of an evening and drinking weak whisky-and-water while he held forth on railway debentures and corporation loans. Mr. Barrett, however, by fawning and flattery, seemed to be able to make not only Mrs. Churchill but everyone else do what he desired. And if the arts of humbleness failed him, he overcame you by sheer impudence.}}
- though that seat of earthly bliss be failed
- The crops failed last year.
- as the waters fail from the sea
- Till Lionel's issue fails , his should not reign.
- If ever they fail of beauty, this failure is not be attributed to their size.
- When earnestly they seek / Such proof, conclude they then begin to fail .
- A sick man fails .
- had the king in his last sickness failed
- Which ofttimes may succeed, so as perhaps / Shall grieve him, if I fail not.
Usage notes
* This is a catenative verb which takes the to infinitive . SeeSynonyms
* (to be unsuccessful) fall on one's faceAntonyms
* (to be unsuccessful) succeedDerived terms
* failure * fail-safeNoun
- The project was full of fail .