The Oxford Thesaurus An A-Z Dictionary of Synonyms - failure n.

1) failing, default, non-performance, remissness; neglect, omission, dereliction, deficiency: His failure to do his duty resulted in a court martial. 2) breakdown, collapse, discontinuance, miscarriage, loss; decline, decay, deterioration: Power disruptions are caused by the failure of the national grid. 3) loser, non-starter, incompetent, also-ran, nonentity, Colloq flop, fizzle, damp squib, dud, lemon, washout, dead duck, US lead balloon: He was an utter failure as a violinist. 4) bankruptcy, ruin, insolvency, downfall, crash, Colloq folding: Bank failures increased owing to bad loans and other poor investments.