as in failed
to go wrong
their scheme to rob the bank misfired disastrously and landed them all in jail
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Recent Examples of misfired
Brunson rose for a deep three-pointer that misfired, but Anunoby weaved through traffic and tipped the ball in for a one-point lead to secure the win.
—
Fiifi Frimpong, New York Daily News, 11 June 2026
The rocket’s upper stage was supposed to fire its engines two times to inject AST’s satellite into the proper orbit, but the stage misfired on the second burn, stranding the payload in a lower-than-planned orbit.
—Stephen Clark, ArsTechnica, 28 May 2026
Overall the Lakers committed 21 more turnovers, giving up 26 points off the mistakes while paying dearly for every errant dribble or misfired pass against the swarming Thunder defenders.
—Los Angeles Times, 8 May 2026
Linscott said the researchers at first suspected their computer modelling misfired.
—Jenny Staletovich, Miami Herald, 2 May 2026
And in 2022, after a man pointed a gun at Argentina’s then-Vice President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner that misfired, Argentinians accused the ruling party of staging the incident to distract from Kirchner’s corruption trial.
—Harmeet Kaur, CNN Money, 23 Apr. 2026
After failing to score on the last 22 chances in the regular season, the Sabres have misfired on their first 13 man advantages in the series, including four Thursday.
—ABC News, 23 Apr. 2026
Jasmine Nguyen was struck by a rocket projectile that misfired during a block party, flying across the street to her front year and lethally striking her.
—Joe Rubin, Sacbee.com, 19 Apr. 2026
His teammates combined for just eight first-quarter points and misfired on all six of their 3-point attempts.
—Zack Cox, Boston Herald, 23 Mar. 2026
Fiifi Frimpong, New York Daily News, 11 June 2026
The rocket’s upper stage was supposed to fire its engines two times to inject AST’s satellite into the proper orbit, but the stage misfired on the second burn, stranding the payload in a lower-than-planned orbit.
—Stephen Clark, ArsTechnica, 28 May 2026
Overall the Lakers committed 21 more turnovers, giving up 26 points off the mistakes while paying dearly for every errant dribble or misfired pass against the swarming Thunder defenders.
—Los Angeles Times, 8 May 2026
Linscott said the researchers at first suspected their computer modelling misfired.
—Jenny Staletovich, Miami Herald, 2 May 2026
And in 2022, after a man pointed a gun at Argentina’s then-Vice President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner that misfired, Argentinians accused the ruling party of staging the incident to distract from Kirchner’s corruption trial.
—Harmeet Kaur, CNN Money, 23 Apr. 2026
After failing to score on the last 22 chances in the regular season, the Sabres have misfired on their first 13 man advantages in the series, including four Thursday.
—ABC News, 23 Apr. 2026
Jasmine Nguyen was struck by a rocket projectile that misfired during a block party, flying across the street to her front year and lethally striking her.
—Joe Rubin, Sacbee.com, 19 Apr. 2026
His teammates combined for just eight first-quarter points and misfired on all six of their 3-point attempts.
—Zack Cox, Boston Herald, 23 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for misfired
Verb
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Two other ships owned by Lan, priced at about $175,000 each, have also failed to find buyers.—
Stephanie Yang,
CNN Money,
18 June 2026
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Staff at the California Public Employees’ Retirement System recommended Tuesday that the board drop United Healthcare plans after negotiations with the insurer over next year’s premiums failed to yield lower rates.—
William Melhado,
Sacbee.com,
18 June 2026
Verb
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The renter’s credit is part of a larger but stalled push to rebalance Connecticut’s upside-down tax system, one the state’s own analysts conclude excessively burdens the poor and middle class.—
Keith M. Phaneuf,
Hartford Courant,
15 June 2026
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The plane, affiliated with Skydive KC, stalled shortly after taking off from Butler Memorial Airport, about an hour south of Kansas City.—
Ilana Arougheti,
Kansas City Star,
15 June 2026
Verb
-
Hamel became pregnant in October 2025 and miscarried, and her sister became pregnant soon after and also miscarried.—
Valerie Mesa,
PEOPLE,
4 June 2026
-
Goodman miscarried multiple times, and lost at least one child in infancy.—
Rachel Syme,
New Yorker,
1 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Misfired.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/misfired. Accessed 20 Jun. 2026.
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