altogether fail

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase "altogether fail" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used to describe a complete or total failure in a particular context or situation. Example: "Despite their best efforts, the project would altogether fail to meet the expectations set by the stakeholders."

✓ Grammatically correct

News & Media

Science

Wiki

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

4 human-written examples

What remains is a kind of sentimental realism, in which the happy endings, such as they are, altogether fail to disguise some of the genuine horrors that lurk behind the wainscoting of the average early 20th-century parlour: the out-of-work drapers' assistants quietly starving to death in library reading rooms, and tubercular journalists coughing their guts out in rented garrets.

The Guardian - Books

And second, they grossly underestimate – or altogether fail to examine – the dynamics within innovation systems.

Research Policy

What I hear is murmur ha/ see some losses/ some language... .. Yet quotations such as the one above altogether fail to capture Lewty's particular take on what (in other circles, under other circumstances) might be read as Slow Poetry.

Huffington Post

Lemaître, however, thought thatIf the world has begun with a single quantum, the notions of space and time would altogether fail to have any meaning at the beginning; they would only begin to have a sensible meaning when the original quantum had been divided into a sufficient number of quanta.

Wikipedia

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

56 human-written examples

Further, some have argued that this view altogether fails to capture agency, because it reduces actions to mere happenings.

SEP

Regarding Flew's criticism Plantinga concludes that "his objection is in an important sense merely verbal and thus altogether fails to damage the free will defense".

Wikipedia

The decision by the Muslim League to stay out of the Constituent Assembly was also fatal to the princes' plan to build an alliance with it to counter the Congress, and attempts to boycott the Constituent Assembly altogether failed on 28 April 1947, when the states of Baroda, Bikaner, Cochin, Gwalior, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Patiala and Rewa took their seats in the Assembly.

Wikipedia

Since the top five models selected by the final ranking above sometime could be very similar to each other, the risk for all of them to fail altogether was high for hard targets.

Bioinformatics

The requests for oversight and reform in the late 1850s and early 1860s described above were made only after the massive effort to abolish the chaplaincy altogether had failed.

Huffington Post

Altogether we failed to identify transcripts for five genes.

BMC Genomics

But those worries have been overtaken by concerns that Congo's Army will fail altogether.

The New York Times

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

When using "altogether fail", ensure the context clearly indicates a complete and total lack of success. Avoid using it for partial failures or situations where some progress was made.

Common error

While grammatically correct, "altogether fail" can sound overly formal or dramatic in everyday conversation. In less formal settings, consider using simpler alternatives like "completely fail" or "totally fail" to maintain a natural tone.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "altogether fail" functions as a verb phrase that describes a complete absence of success. It emphasizes that something does not achieve its intended outcome at all. As seen in Ludwig, this expression is typically used to denote a comprehensive lack of achievement.

Expression frequency: Rare

Frequent in

News & Media

33%

Science

33%

Wiki

8%

Less common in

Formal & Business

8%

Encyclopedias

0%

Reference

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

In summary, the phrase "altogether fail" signifies a complete lack of success. While grammatically sound and accepted, Ludwig AI reveals that its usage is relatively infrequent, typically found in news, scientific, and wiki contexts. For less formal communication, alternatives like "completely fail" or "totally fail" might be more appropriate. Remember to ensure the context clearly indicates a total absence of success when employing this phrase.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

Completely fail

This alternative is a more straightforward synonym, replacing "altogether" with "completely" for emphasis.

Utterly fail

This alternative emphasizes the completeness of the failure, using "utterly" to intensify the meaning.

Totally fail

Similar to "completely fail", this option replaces "altogether" with "totally", making the phrase slightly less formal.

Fail completely

This phrase rearranges the words while maintaining the core meaning, providing a slight shift in emphasis.

Fail entirely

This alternative uses "entirely" in place of "altogether", keeping a formal tone.

Absolutely fail

This alternative uses “absolutely” to reinforce the notion of complete failure.

Fail miserably

This alternative emphasizes the poor quality of the failure, using "miserably" to add a negative connotation.

Be a complete failure

This changes the structure to use a noun phrase, focusing on the outcome as a state of being.

Fall flat

This is an idiomatic expression that describes a failure to produce the intended effect or result.

Come to nothing

This idiomatic expression suggests that efforts or plans did not result in success.

FAQs

What does "altogether fail" mean?

The phrase "altogether fail" means to completely or totally fail; to have no success whatsoever.

How can I use "altogether fail" in a sentence?

You can use "altogether fail" to describe a situation where something completely does not succeed. For example, "The project would "altogether fail" if key resources were not available."

What can I say instead of "altogether fail"?

You can use alternatives like "completely fail", "utterly fail", or "totally fail" depending on the context.

Is it better to say "fail completely" or "altogether fail"?

Both "fail completely" and "altogether fail" are grammatically correct, but ""altogether fail"" is more formal. The best choice depends on the tone and context of your writing.