How to spell failure

hear itfail·ure/'feɪljər/nounSilent and tricky

What it means: The state of not succeeding or achieving a goal.

In a sentence: Even when we experience failure, we can try again and learn from our mistakes.

The part people get wrong

Often misspelled as failer or faillure.

Same family: fail, failed, failing, successful, success. If you can spell one, the shared part carries to the others.

Where it comes from: The word "failure" comes from the French word "faillir," meaning "to fail, be lacking, or miss," and the noun-forming suffix "-ure." It entered English in the 1600s, and for a time it was used both for the act of failing and for a person who habitually fails.

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