as in failing
to go wrong
their scheme to rob the bank misfired disastrously and landed them all in jail
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Recent Examples of misfiring
Mayfield completed his first six passes before misfiring on a cross-field, 13-yard toss to Payne Durham, who was wide open in the end zone.
—
Jackson Thompson, FOXNews.com, 4 Jan. 2026
Mayfield completed his first six passes before misfiring on a cross-field, 13-yard toss to Payne Durham, who was wide open in the end zone.
—Dallas Morning News, 3 Jan. 2026
But Cunningham manufactured another five free-throw attempts in the closing seconds, hitting four before misfiring on the fifth.
—Zack Cox, Boston Herald, 27 Nov. 2025
Liverpool’s defence was so shaky that even the misfiring attack went unnoticed.
—The Athletic Uk Staff, New York Times, 25 Oct. 2025
Your intuition might be misfiring!
—Usa Today, USA Today, 7 Aug. 2025
In the 1950s, researchers used a primitive electronic sensor to identify the misfiring neurons that give rise to Parkinson’s disease.
—IEEE Spectrum, 28 May 2022
Jackson Thompson, FOXNews.com, 4 Jan. 2026
Mayfield completed his first six passes before misfiring on a cross-field, 13-yard toss to Payne Durham, who was wide open in the end zone.
—Dallas Morning News, 3 Jan. 2026
But Cunningham manufactured another five free-throw attempts in the closing seconds, hitting four before misfiring on the fifth.
—Zack Cox, Boston Herald, 27 Nov. 2025
Liverpool’s defence was so shaky that even the misfiring attack went unnoticed.
—The Athletic Uk Staff, New York Times, 25 Oct. 2025
Your intuition might be misfiring!
—Usa Today, USA Today, 7 Aug. 2025
In the 1950s, researchers used a primitive electronic sensor to identify the misfiring neurons that give rise to Parkinson’s disease.
—IEEE Spectrum, 28 May 2022
Recent Examples of Synonyms for misfiring
Verb
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The incident came to light after two DEA whistleblowers accused the agency of failing to address the allegations involving corruption in its Haiti operations.—
Jacqueline Charles,
Miami Herald,
14 Feb. 2026
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As a result, the plaintiffs argued, the administration also violated the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 by failing to consider the harmful environmental impacts of the project.—
Safiyah Riddle,
Los Angeles Times,
14 Feb. 2026
Verb
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While the middle class is stalling, to put it mildly, the irredeemably rich appear to be getting even richer.—
Kati Chitrakorn,
CNN Money,
4 Feb. 2026
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Taking care of ourselves can feel like a lot of work, maybe even stalling us from doing anything at all.—
Cara Lynn Shultz,
PEOPLE,
3 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The ad, which centers on a fictional family scouring their community for their missing dog, demonstrates how the Search Party feature activates neighboring Ring home cameras to be used in the search.—
Mason Leib,
ABC News,
14 Feb. 2026
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Young Heathcliff is missing a tooth, so when Heathcliff returns, Miller worked with prosthetic dental appliance creator Chris Lyons from Fangs Effects in the UK to fill the gap.—
Jazz Tangcay,
Variety,
14 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Misfiring.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/misfiring. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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