thoroughly fail

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase "thoroughly fail" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used to emphasize the complete or total nature of a failure in various contexts, such as academic, professional, or personal situations. Example: "Despite all the preparation, the project was a disaster and we thoroughly failed to meet our objectives."

✓ Grammatically correct

News & Media

Science

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

2 human-written examples

If you look closely at the tactical vests that so thoroughly fail to protect many of the characters in Ridley Scott's new film, "Alien: Covenant," you may notice their distinctive pattern of two-inch-wide vertical quilting.

The New Yorker

The analysis indicated that most of expressions cannot describe brittle failure characteristics of rock efficiently and either partially or thoroughly fail to correctly address the impact of stress state on rock brittleness.

Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

57 human-written examples

She also said she harbored no ill feelings about a criminal justice system that thoroughly failed her.

The New York Times

Chonghou had so thoroughly failed as a peacemaker that the only thing keeping him alive was the threat of war.One man's life hung in the balance.

The Economist

While we have had basic liberties and precarious growth, our leaders have thoroughly failed to ease this country's poverty and longstanding social divide.

The New York Times

The biblical Lazarus, of course, didn't actually stay dead; Bowie's musical of the same name was a sequel of sorts to The Man Who Fell to Earth, in which an alien thoroughly fails to assimilate on Earth.

The Guardian - Music

Knowing abstractly that her host's son had died, she finds herself "horrified by small things — a desk, a globe, a knife — fearing they might have come into play somehow in a story that she had so thoroughly failed to understand".

The New York Times - Books

In the most bizarre, roundabout way possible, the AT had done for Joe what two stints in prison had thoroughly failed to do: rehabilitate him.

Vice

Future historians will marvel at how U.S. leaders so thoroughly failed to learn from their horrific mistakes and crimes in Indochina, and have instead repeated so many of them today in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Huffington Post

The 2005 Color Purple seemed to be so self-important that while some of the performers came across, the characters did not; the book seemed meandering; and the score, the quality of which carries the triumphant show now at the Jacobs, thoroughly failed to impress.

Huffington Post

Notwithstanding the fact that this "director" had thoroughly failed in his attempt to create "trust" by taking us through traditional drama exercises (one of which was to share our favorite artists!), what I'm most angry about is not having a quick snarky come-back.

Huffington Post

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

Use "thoroughly fail" to underscore the extent and completeness of a failure, especially in situations where partial success might be expected or hoped for.

Common error

Avoid using "thoroughly fail" in casual conversation or informal writing. The phrase carries a degree of formality that might sound unnatural in relaxed settings. Instead, opt for simpler alternatives like "completely mess up" or "totally bomb".

Linguistic Context

The phrase "thoroughly fail" functions as a verbal phrase where the adverb "thoroughly" intensifies the verb "fail". It indicates a complete lack of success or a significant degree of ineffectiveness. As Ludwig AI indicates, this phrase is correct and usable in written English.

Expression frequency: Rare

Frequent in

News & Media

50%

Science

50%

Encyclopedias

0%

Less common in

Formal & Business

0%

Wiki

0%

Reference

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

The phrase "thoroughly fail" is a grammatically sound and functionally expressive way to denote a complete absence of success. As Ludwig AI confirms, it's suitable for written English, particularly in neutral to formal registers. While not exceedingly common, its usage in contexts like news and science underscores its ability to convey a decisive lack of desired outcome. Alternatives like "utterly collapse" or "completely break down" offer similar semantic weight, though "thoroughly fail" maintains a distinct tone of critical assessment.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

fail miserably

Adds "miserably" to emphasize the poor quality of the failure.

utterly collapse

Replaces "fail" with "collapse" and "thoroughly" with "utterly", emphasizing a complete breakdown.

completely break down

Uses "break down" instead of "fail" and "completely" instead of "thoroughly", highlighting a total malfunction.

end in total failure

Focuses on the end result being a complete lack of success.

absolutely not succeed

Emphasizes the lack of success with "absolutely not", offering a more emphatic tone.

fall flat on its face

Uses an idiomatic expression to describe a complete and embarrassing failure.

be a complete disaster

Rephrases the failure as a catastrophic event, focusing on the negative outcome.

prove entirely unsuccessful

Replaces "fail" with "unsuccessful" and "thoroughly" with "entirely", maintaining a formal tone.

meet with total defeat

Presents the failure as a loss or defeat, highlighting the unsuccessful result.

be an abject failure

Uses "abject" to describe the failure, emphasizing its miserable or wretched quality.

FAQs

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

You can use "thoroughly fail" to describe a situation where something does not just fail, but fails completely. For example, "The tactical vests that so "thoroughly fail" to protect many of the characters in Ridley Scott's new film."

What does "thoroughly fail" mean?

"Thoroughly fail" means to completely or utterly fail at something, leaving no room for partial success or mitigation.

Are there alternatives to saying "thoroughly fail"?

Yes, alternatives include "completely fail", "utterly collapse", or "fall flat on its face", depending on the context.

Is it grammatically correct to say "thoroughly fail"?

Yes, "thoroughly fail" is grammatically correct. The adverb "thoroughly" modifies the verb "fail", indicating the extent of the failure.