FALL ON ONE'S FACE Synonyms: 50 Similar and Opposite Words

fall on one's face

phrase

as in collapse

to be unsuccessful Remembering how she fell on her face giving the speech the first time spurred her to practice it till she had it down.

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for fall on one's face

Phrase

Still, some civil rights advocates say these measures fall short.

— Soo Youn, ABC News, 14 Aug. 2026
While research falls short on estimating how many faces a person sees in a day in 2026, researchers estimated a decade ago that 95 million photos and videos were posted to Instagram each day.

— Nicole Karlis, Allure, 14 Aug. 2026

Definition of fall short

Phrase

Just last year, Nate Bargatze entered Emmys night as a peak-of-fame comedian, and ended the evening as the object of mass audience disgruntlement after a running joke about winners’ lengthy speeches taking money away from children in need fell flat.

— Daniel D'Addario, Variety, 19 Aug. 2026
Policies fall flat without clear, severe consequences when platforms breach their duty of care or fail to act responsibly.

— Erin Mote, Forbes.com, 18 Aug. 2026

Definition of fall flat

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

falloffs

fall on one's face

fall out

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Fall on one's face.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fall%20on%20one%27s%20face. Accessed 20 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of fall on one's face

phrase

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

divulge

Popular in Grammar & Usage

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

How to Pronounce the Trickiest Menu Items

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Do you 'say your piece' or 'say your peace'?

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Popular in Wordplay

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

Even More Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'

Popular

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

Games & Quizzes