failing

failing
[[t]fe͟ɪlɪŋ[/t]]
failings
1) N-COUNT: usu pl, oft with poss The failings of someone or something are their faults or unsatisfactory features.

Like many in Russia, she blamed the country's failings on futile attempts to catch up with the West...

He had invented an imaginary son, in order to make up for his real son's failings.

Syn:
2) PHRASE: PHR with cl/group You say failing that to introduce an alternative, in case what you have just said is not possible.

Find someone who will let you talk things through, or failing that, write down your thoughts.


English dictionary. 2008.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?
Synonyms:

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Failing — Fail ing, n. 1. A failing short; a becoming deficient; failure; deficiency; imperfection; weakness; lapse; fault; infirmity; as, a mental failing. [1913 Webster] And ever in her mind she cast about For that unnoticed failing in herself. Tennyson …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • failing — [adj] not well, weak declining, defeated, deficient, faint, feeble, inadequate, insufficient, scant, scanty, scarce, short, shy, unavailing, unprosperous, unsuccessful, unsufficient, unthriving, vain, wanting; concepts 485,489 Ant. healthy, ok,… …   New thesaurus

  • failing — [fāl′iŋ] n. 1. a failure 2. a slight fault or defect; weakness prep. without; lacking [failing a good voter turnout, our candidate will lose] SYN. FAULT …   English World dictionary

  • failing — I noun asthenia, atony, blemish, cachexia, collapse, debilitation, decadence, decay, decline, decrepitude, defeat, deficiency, delinquency, disadvantage, failure, fallibility, fault, fiasco, flaw, foible, frailty, imperfection, inadequacy,… …   Law dictionary

  • failing — defect, fault, 1580s, verbal noun from FAIL (Cf. fail) …   Etymology dictionary

  • failing — n frailty, foible, *fault, vice Analogous words: *blemish, flaw, defect: weakness, infirmity (see corresponding adjectives at WEAK) Antonyms: perfection (in concrete sense) Contrasted words: *excellence, merit, virtue …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • failing — ► NOUN ▪ a weakness in a person s character. ► PREPOSITION ▪ if not …   English terms dictionary

  • failing — fail|ing1 [ feılıŋ ] noun count a fault or a weak point that makes someone or something less effective: He had his failings, but he was basically a good man. the failings of the criminal justice system failing fail|ing 2 [ feılıŋ ] adjective no… …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • failing — I UK [ˈfeɪlɪŋ] / US noun [countable] Word forms failing : singular failing plural failings a fault or a weak point that makes someone or something less effective He had his failings, but he was basically a good man. the failings of the criminal… …   English dictionary

  • failing — failingly, adv. failingness, n. /fay ling/, n. 1. an act or instance of failing; failure: His failing is due to general incompetence. 2. a defect or fault; shortcoming; weakness: His lack of knowledge is a grave failing. prep. 3. in the absence… …   Universalium

  • failing — noun ADJECTIVE ▪ great, major, serious (esp. BrE), worst ▪ Vanity is her worst failing. ▪ common, human ▪ …   Collocations dictionary

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