Fail and Pass

Fail

Fail verb - Judge unacceptable.
Usage example: The teacher failed six students

Pass is an antonym for fail in be unsuccessful topic.

Nearby Words: failure, failing, failed

Pass

Pass verb - Go successfully through a test or a selection process.
Usage example: She passed the new Jersey Bar Exam and can practice law now

Fail is an antonym for pass in topics: be successful in, give, enact, cease, surpass.

Nearby Words: passage, passed, passing, passable

Common collocations

part fail part pass part
trial fail trial pass trial
check fail check pass check
course fail course pass course
Other words: class, series, time, way, challenge, level, game, test, song, mission, exam, times, checks, tests, exams.

Both words in one sentence

  • Similarly, some classes don't give a standard grade (numerical or letter) and simply have a pass or fail grade.
  • Epic Fail It's when a character seems to be facing a pass or fail situation, a do or die type of test, and then fate hands them a third option: fail in a manner so bizarre it's impressive.
    Source: Epic Fail
  • Then there's the Achievement Rate percentage system, which is still influenced by note judgements, but does not go down, and is used to determine pass/fail status instead.
Cite this Source
Pass and Fail. (2016). Retrieved 2026, August 16, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/fail/pass
Fail & Pass. N.p., 2016. Web. 16 Aug. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/fail/pass>.
Pass or Fail. 2016. Accessed August 16, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/fail/pass.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "fail" and "pass" have occurred on timeline