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
Key players misfiring Newcastle’s winning goal featured their record signing, Nick Woltemade, heading home a debut goal from a cross by Jacob Murphy.
—
Steve Madeley, New York Times, 15 Sep. 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
Steve Madeley, New York Times, 15 Sep. 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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Civil rights leaders criticized the federal government at the time for failing to prioritize equitable access in communities of color.—
Nicquel Terry Ellis,
CNN Money,
14 Sep. 2025
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The new glue has impressive properties, including its ability to withstand significant forces before failing.—
Christopher McFadden,
Interesting Engineering,
13 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Runge argues in The Great Healthcare Disruption that innovation without humanity risks leaving patients behind, while humanity without innovation risks stalling medical progress.—
Nia Bowers,
USA Today,
12 Sep. 2025
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Recent employment data, including the August jobs report, show a US economy with job growth that’s stalling out.—
Alicia Wallace,
CNN Money,
9 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Advocates see that high violation rate as an indication that regulators are missing even more abuses in the fields.—
Max Blau,
ProPublica,
16 Sep. 2025
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The San Francisco 49ers managed to improve to 2-0 with a 26-21 win over the New Orleans Saints on Sunday despite missing quarterback Brock Purdy and tight end George Kittle.—
Robert Marvi,
MSNBC Newsweek,
16 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Misfiring.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/misfiring. Accessed 20 Sep. 2025.
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