Failure
Failure noun - The nonperformance of an assigned or expected action.
Malfunction is a synonym for failure in interruption topic. In some cases you can use "Malfunction" instead a noun "Failure", when it comes to topics like bug, failing, breakdown.
Malfunction
Malfunction noun - A failure to function normally.
Failure is a synonym for malfunction in crash topic. You can use "Failure" instead a noun "Malfunction", if it concerns topics such as interruption, fault, bug, failing.
Nearby Words: malfunctioning, malfunctioned
Mutual synonyms
How words are described
| similar | similar failure | similar malfunction |
| single | single failure | single malfunction |
| actual | actual failure | actual malfunction |
| real | real failure | real malfunction |
| Other adjectives: constant, severe, massive, serious, embarrassing, infamous, potential, mechanical, possible, catastrophic, apparent, temporary, inevitable, random, last, recent, sudden. | ||
Both words in one sentence
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The woman that Aiba is with at the end of the manga does not seem to be Kurumi, but Aiba has some sort of sexual malfunction at the end, presumably a failure to get an erection.
Source: Manga / Sundome - With its trip cut short by an engine malfunction, the crew returned home and sadly announced the failure of the mission.
Source: Literature / Infinity Beach - In Shindig the sign "Management not responsible for ball failure" (and a corresponding Mandarin translation) is shown after a holographic pool table flickers after a malfunction.
Cite this Source
Malfunction and Failure. (2016). Retrieved 2026, August 16, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/failure/malfunction
Failure & Malfunction. N.p., 2016. Web. 16 Aug. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/failure/malfunction>.
Malfunction or Failure. 2016. Accessed August 16, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/failure/malfunction.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "failure" and "malfunction" have occurred on timeline