as in to fail
to fail to function or work properly
A software problem is causing the system to malfunction.
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Recent Examples of malfunction
And later a valve on the Orion capsule malfunctioned as engineers also attempted to troubleshoot several dropouts of ground teams’ audio communications channels.
—
Claire Cameron, Scientific American, 3 Feb. 2026
But after the first attempt malfunctioned — the lace caught on the bottom of Buckley's bouquet, resulting in the veil accidentally yanking her head back — everyone is now on high alert.
—Sydney Bucksbaum, Entertainment Weekly, 3 Feb. 2026
The move comes after a long shutdown at Ramos’ other property, Cebada Rooftop in Coral Gables, which was closed from September 2025 until January of 2026 due to a malfunctioning elevator.
—Connie Ogle, Miami Herald, 30 Jan. 2026
Crypto of all varieties seems to be malfunctioning compared to the shiny stuff.
—Jim Cramer, CNBC, 25 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for malfunction
Claire Cameron, Scientific American, 3 Feb. 2026
But after the first attempt malfunctioned — the lace caught on the bottom of Buckley's bouquet, resulting in the veil accidentally yanking her head back — everyone is now on high alert.
—Sydney Bucksbaum, Entertainment Weekly, 3 Feb. 2026
The move comes after a long shutdown at Ramos’ other property, Cebada Rooftop in Coral Gables, which was closed from September 2025 until January of 2026 due to a malfunctioning elevator.
—Connie Ogle, Miami Herald, 30 Jan. 2026
Crypto of all varieties seems to be malfunctioning compared to the shiny stuff.
—Jim Cramer, CNBC, 25 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for malfunction
Recent Examples of Synonyms for malfunction
Verb
-
That shutdown ended with a promise to vote on extending the subsidies, which failed.—
Riley Beggin,
Arkansas Online,
14 Feb. 2026
-
Previous versions of the bill failed to gain traction in both chambers last year.—
Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy,
USA Today,
14 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
The Bell 407 helicopter crashed on Flagstaff's west side, a few miles from Route 66 in a less densely populated area to the north of Brewer's neighborhood.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
6 Feb. 2026
-
Three people were killed and six more were wounded on Thursday after a car hit a bicyclist and crashed into a grocery store in Los Angeles, according to authorities.—
David Zimmermann,
The Washington Examiner,
6 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Malfunction.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/malfunction. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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