Fail and Mess up

Related terms

Fail verb - To stop functioning.

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Mess up and fail are semantically related in bungle topic. In some cases you can use "Mess up" instead a verb "Fail".

Nearby Words: failure, failing, failed

Mess up verb - Make a mess of, destroy or ruin.

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Fail and mess up are semantically related in bungle topic. Sometimes you can use "Fail" instead a verb "Mess up".

The Trolls always maintain that the kid protagonists are doomed to fail and mess up their session so badly that it retroactively broke the Trolls' as well.

Source: Sliding Scale of Free Will vs. Fate
Paranoia gives certain NPCs "GM fiat armor" as shorthand for "beating this guy would really mess up the plot, so whatever the PCs try, contrive some excuse for it to fail".

Source: Contractual Boss Immunity
When the come up with plans that would mess up Robotnik... they still fail.

Source: Western Animation / Sonic Underground

Cite this Source

Mess up and Fail. (2016). Retrieved 2026, July 22, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/fail/mess_up

Fail & Mess up. N.p., 2016. Web. 22 Jul. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/fail/mess_up>.

Mess up or Fail. 2016. Accessed July 22, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/fail/mess_up.

Google Ngram Viewer shows how "fail" and "mess up" have occurred on timeline