barely failed to

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase "barely failed to" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used to indicate that someone almost succeeded in doing something but ultimately did not. Example: "She barely failed to meet the deadline, submitting her report just a minute too late."

✓ Grammatically correct

Science

News & Media

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

5 human-written examples

Denise Lewis, Grand Panjandrum of Corporate Affairs, assured us that Orange has always regarded their prize as much more than a mere marketing opportunity (although it comes in handy, she barely failed to add).

The Guardian - Books

The overall negative correlation (r = − 0.425) across the entire population, however, barely failed to reach significance (F (1, 15) = 3.32; p = 0.09).

BMC Evolutionary Biology

A trend of decreasing delta F0 over the course of song bouts barely failed to reach significance, (r = −0.69) (F (1, 6) = 5.5; p = 0.057), and mean delta F0 did not significantly differ between the beginning (640 ± 118 Hz) and the end (566 ± 74 Hz) of bouts: (T (6) = 1.13, p = 0.30).

BMC Evolutionary Biology

A trend of increasing high note production from the beginning (1.63 ± 0.32) to the end of bouts barely failed to reach statistical significance (1.84 ± 0.3) (T (6) =2.12, p = 0.078), and the overall trend over the course of the entire bouts (r = 0.66) was also not significant (F (1, 6) = 4.7; p = 0.074).

BMC Evolutionary Biology

Young adults also produced significantly higher maximum F0 frequencies (mean 1599 ± 57 Hz, range 1387 178888) than old adults (mean 1441 ± 23 Hz, range 1329 – 1546, T (15) = 2.88, p = 0.02), but an inverse relationship (r = −0.474) between the maximum F0 of great call climaxes and caller age barely failed to reach statistical significance (F (1, 15) = 3.99; p = 0.06).

BMC Evolutionary Biology

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

54 human-written examples

However, there are ways of quantifying the degree of mixing that lead to the notion of "weak mixing", which describes a system that just barely fails to be truly mixing.

The Guardian

It is also suggested by the failure of the composite profile to bracket 0.5 at the refined threshold, though it only barely fails to do so.

Journal of Cheminformatics

In fact, the study of the periodic Benjamin equation has been based on iteration in the space (X^{s}), but this space barely fails to control the (L^{infty}_{t}H^{s}_{x}) norm.

Boundary Value Problems

Referring to the number of times the incident was replayed on the world feed, Ferrari team principal Jean Todt stated that "even if you didn't want to watch it, you could barely fail to".

Wikipedia

Further while the maximum likelihood estimate for a 1 is quite low (a 1 = 0.676; to be interpreted as considerable relaxation), the confidence interval barely fails to include 1, so the evidence is not conclusive.

Plosone

Possibly, adolescents who barely fail to fit the slim norm are more likely to internalize appearance ideals [ 46] and are thus more sensible to subtle appearance-related messages.

Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

Use "barely failed to" to underscore the closeness of a missed target, adding emphasis to the narrow margin between success and failure.

Common error

Avoid using "barely failed to" when the failure was significant. This phrase is best suited for situations where the outcome was nearly achieved.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "barely failed to" functions as a qualifier indicating the extent of failure. It modifies the verb phrase that follows, specifying that the failure was by a narrow margin. As Ludwig confirms, the phrase is grammatically valid.

Expression frequency: Uncommon

Frequent in

Science

60%

News & Media

40%

Formal & Business

0%

Less common in

Encyclopedias

0%

Wiki

0%

Reference

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

In summary, the phrase "barely failed to" is a grammatically sound expression used to convey a near miss or a slight failure, as validated by Ludwig. It finds common application in both scientific and news contexts, highlighting the narrow margin between success and failure. Ludwig's AI analysis confirms that the phrase is correct and usable. When writing, remember to use it when a goal was almost achieved, but ultimately not. Consider alternatives like "narrowly missed" or "almost didn't" for variety.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

narrowly missed

Focuses on the small margin by which something was not achieved.

almost didn't

Emphasizes the closeness to not doing something.

just fell short of

Highlights that the target was not quite reached.

nearly didn't succeed in

More formal way of expressing a close failure.

came close to failing

Directly addresses the idea of almost failing.

scarcely succeeded

Indicates success but with minimal margin.

virtually failed

Emphasizes the potential of failure.

only just failed

Draws attention to the very small degree of failure.

hardly succeeded

Highlights the difficulty in achieving the success.

marginally failed

Emphasizes the small degree of failure.

FAQs

What does "barely failed to" mean?

The phrase "barely failed to" means that someone or something almost succeeded but ultimately did not. It indicates a very close margin between success and failure.

How can I use "barely failed to" in a sentence?

You can use "barely failed to" to describe a situation where someone came very close to achieving something. For example: "She "barely failed to" meet the deadline."

What are some alternatives to "barely failed to"?

Some alternatives include "narrowly missed", "almost didn't", or "just fell short of", depending on the context.

Is "barely failed to" grammatically correct?

Yes, "barely failed to" is grammatically correct and commonly used to express a close miss. The Ludwig AI confirms its grammatical validity.