as in to fail
to go wrong
their scheme to rob the bank misfired disastrously and landed them all in jail
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as in catastrophe
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Recent Examples of misfire
Gary Bedore, Kansas City Star, 4 Feb. 2025
Curry, who rarely had an inch to breathe because of Sacramento’s traps and zone defense, misfired on a deep try with 90 seconds left, leading to foul shots on the other end to give Sacramento a two-possession edge.
—Danny Emerman, The Mercury News, 23 Jan. 2025
John Mac Ghlionn, Newsweek, 14 Jan. 2025
Also, Apple mistakenly thought everyone would suddenly be OK with wearing headsets around one another, a rare misfire.
—Julian Chokkattu, WIRED, 27 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for misfire
Verb
Harris misfired on a pair of free throws with KU up six in the closing moments of a 92-86 double overtime loss to Houston.
—Gary Bedore, Kansas City Star, 4 Feb. 2025
Curry, who rarely had an inch to breathe because of Sacramento’s traps and zone defense, misfired on a deep try with 90 seconds left, leading to foul shots on the other end to give Sacramento a two-possession edge.
—Danny Emerman, The Mercury News, 23 Jan. 2025
Noun
DeJean fell prematurely, throwing off the timing of the move and turning what should have been a smooth tribute into a comical misfire.
—John Mac Ghlionn, Newsweek, 14 Jan. 2025
Also, Apple mistakenly thought everyone would suddenly be OK with wearing headsets around one another, a rare misfire.
—Julian Chokkattu, WIRED, 27 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for misfire
Recent Examples of Synonyms for misfire
Verb
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Senate Bill 354 simply demands that the PSC do what four state Supreme Court justices said the panel failed to do when FPL last came looking for a historic multibillion-dollar rate hike: Its job.—
Orlando Sentinel and South Florida Sun Sentinel Editorial Boards,
Orlando Sentinel,
7 Mar. 2025
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Because this isn’t a video file, a media player will fail to play it.—
Zak Doffman,
Forbes,
7 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Heavily linked with a move away from the club to the Premier League or Saudi Arabia last summer while called a flop by many, Raphinha got his head down and worked hard to impress new head coach Hansi Flick.—
Tom Sanderson,
Forbes,
7 Mar. 2025
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Coach Women's Florence Slide Sandal $125 $105 at Amazon When most of their summer days are spent wearing slides, the Coach Florence Sandal upgrades your teen’s flip flops.—
Cheryl Fenton,
Parents,
5 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Collins miscarried her pregnancy in last week’s episode, and some significant personal things happen to various doctors and nurses later on.—
Alan Sepinwall,
Rolling Stone,
21 Feb. 2025
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The standard of care for miscarrying patients in the second trimester is to offer to empty the uterus, according to leading medical organizations, which can lower the risk of contracting an infection and developing sepsis.—
Lizzie Presser,
ProPublica,
20 Feb. 2025
Noun
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Moore’s empowering, committed performance earned praise from critics, a nice turnaround after the previous year’s Striptease fiasco.—
Katie Rife,
EW.com,
2 Mar. 2025
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Scheffler, meanwhile, seemed a little embarrassed by the whole fiasco and clearly wants to put that all in the past.—
Ben Church,
CNN,
2 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Legislative reinforcement will be critical in ensuring that regulatory reform does not stall at the finish line.—
Clyde Wayne Crews Jr.,
Forbes,
4 Mar. 2025
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Trump has expressed support for ending the practice, but recent efforts to do so have stalled, and only two states—Hawaii and most of Arizona—don’t participate in Daylight Saving Time.—
Chantelle Lee,
TIME,
4 Mar. 2025
Noun
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His last touchdown was a 50-yard bomb, which represented the final points in the Super Bowl and the 2024 season.—
Jeff Fedotin,
Forbes,
8 Mar. 2025
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Paris' Gare du Nord rail station suspended all train traffic, both arrivals and departures, after the discovery of an unexploded World War II bomb.—
Michael Cappetta,
Travel + Leisure,
7 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Luka was mostly a dud, shooting 5-of-18 with six turnovers.—
Scott Fowler,
Charlotte Observer,
20 Feb. 2025
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But if there’s no one character quite as gonzo as Tanya, there also aren’t any outright duds like there were in Season Two with Michael Imperioli and F. Murray Abraham trying and failing to outgrow their different kinds of toxic masculinity.—
Alan Sepinwall,
Rolling Stone,
11 Feb. 2025
Noun
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Hotels have had a strong recovery since the washout year of 2021.—
Fritz Kaegi,
Chicago Tribune,
11 Feb. 2025
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An east wind will maintain a higher risk of rip currents along the coast, but overall, the holiday period will not see a washout.—
Hannah Parry,
Newsweek,
23 Dec. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Misfire.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/misfire. Accessed 12 Mar. 2025.
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