failed communication

USAGE SUMMARY

"failed communication" is correct and usable in written English. You can use it to describe a situation where a message was not effectively conveyed or understood. For example, "The project suffered due to failed communication between team members." Alternative expressions include "breakdown in communication" and "communication breakdown."

✓ Grammatically correct

News & Media

Science

Formal & Business

Wiki

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

16 human-written examples

"They are failed communication, in a sense".

The New York Times

Two more calls followed, then a long period of failed communication because the phone lines were dead, but finally about 2 p.m. the patient emerged from an extended and indirect excursion through the rubble of the battle zone, in tears and needing tender care.

The New York Times

If you were to ask me what a 7-11 and a failed communication device have in common, I'd say the Ogo from back in the day.

TechCrunch

During the proposed training, examples of both successful and failed communication would be presented to the interviewing officers, with an emphasis on borderline cases.

Journal of Pragmatics

The nurse is usually identified as an essential source of many dilemmas, such as conflicts between legal and ethical obligations, perceived powerlessness, power distance, workload, perception of inadequate medical treatment and failed communication by the medical team [14, 25].

Annals of Intensive Care

In particular, considering the six steps just described, a communication attempt always fails at start-up because there is no peer to select; Step 5 (Failed communication, random selection) and Step 6 (Condition for communication with random selection) are then executed and the initial ties are created by those interactions with randomly selected peers that succeed.

Computational Social Networks

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

44 human-written examples

Firstly, it is rare for an otherwise 'exemplary' student to 'just fail communication' – experience suggests that poor communicators struggle in a range of competencies [ 21]. "In practice there are very few students who fail communication in isolation".

BMC Medical Education

(6) The communication is recovered by the union of failed actor communication edges with backup communication edges and the communication edges of the network topology are updated.

Complex Adaptive Systems Modeling

1.00pm GMT A thoughtful comment posted below by AlexLawrie, suggesting that this episode highlights the problem in the way climate science is both communicated and reported: I think the story here is one of failed science communication.

The Guardian

He said of Roche, "They failed in communication".

The New York Times - Health

I think the key words here are "failed" and "communication".

Huffington Post

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

Pair this phrase with specific reasons for the failure, such as technical issues, cultural barriers or emotional distance, to provide more clarity in professional writing.

Common error

Do not use "failed communication" as a synonym for a total lack of contact. A failure implies that an interaction occurred but was unsuccessful; if no words were exchanged at all, "lack of communication" is the more accurate phrase.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "failed communication" serves as a noun phrase composed of the past participle adjective "failed" and the noun "communication". In sentences, it typically functions as the subject, direct object, or the object of a preposition. Ludwig AI shows that it is frequently used to identify a specific cause of conflict or error in professional and academic settings.

Expression frequency: Common

Frequent in

Science & Medicine

45%

News & Media

35%

Formal & Business

15%

Less common in

Wiki

3%

Encyclopedias

1%

Social Media

1%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

In summary, "failed communication" is a robust and versatile English phrase used to describe instances where the exchange of information was unsuccessful. Ludwig AI highlights its prevalence in Science and News & Media, where it serves as a precise descriptor for clinical errors, interpersonal conflict, or technical glitches. While often interchangeable with phrases like "communication breakdown", it carries a specific weight that focuses on the failed result of a communicative attempt. It is a grammatically standard and highly effective choice for writers needing to analyze or report on dysfunctional interactions in a professional tone.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

communication breakdown

Suggests a total collapse of an existing system or process of talking.

communication failure

Shifts the emphasis to the failure as an event or a technical error.

breakdown in communication

Uses a prepositional structure to emphasize the location of the failure.

failed attempt at communication

Focuses on the effort made by the sender that did not succeed.

unsuccessful communication

A slightly more formal adjective choice describing the result of the attempt.

miscommunication

A more concise, single-word term for a misunderstanding rather than a total failure.

ineffective communication

Highlights the lack of desired results or impact from the exchange.

lack of communication

Specifically refers to the absence of any exchange of information.

poor communication

Indicates that communication happened but was of low quality or ineffective.

interrupted communication

Implies that the process was started but was cut off by external factors.

FAQs

How to use "failed communication" in a sentence?

You can use it as a subject or object to describe a problem, such as: "The project's collapse was largely due to "failed communication" between the various departments."

What can I say instead of "failed communication"?

Depending on your specific meaning, you might use "communication breakdown", "miscommunication", or "ineffective dialogue".

Is it "failed communication" or "failure of communication"?

Both are correct. "failed communication" functions as a noun phrase using a participle adjective, while "failure of communication" is a more formal prepositional phrase.

When is the term most appropriate?

It is highly appropriate in formal contexts like business reports, scientific studies, or serious news articles to describe interpersonal or technical errors in transmitting information.