FELL SHORT Synonyms: 59 Similar and Opposite Words

fell short

phrase

past tense of fall short

as in failed

to be unsuccessful The movie fell short of its viewers' expectations.

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in fell flat

to go wrong The biography falls short by neglecting to explore the subject's faults as well as his virtues.

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Recent Examples of fell short Morgan Stanley — Shares were down 3% after the investment bank reported third-quarter investment banking revenue that fell short of Wall Street's estimates. — Davis Giangiulio,darla Mercado, Cfp®, CNBC, 14 Oct. 2026 In what proved to be a heavyweight battle in Conference USA, the FIU Panthers fell short in heartbreaking fashion, suffering a 27-24 loss to Jacksonville State. — Alejandro Hernandez, Miami Herald, 14 Oct. 2026 All three of the bikes were stock, and even though the SR/S and DSR/X fell short of DS’ mileage, these bikes still managed to surpass the previous record as well. — New Atlas, 14 Oct. 2026 Both teams made the postseason last year, but fell short without making any real noise. — Outkick, FOXNews.com, 11 Oct. 2026 Messi just fell short of winning back-to-back World Cups when defending champion Argentina was beaten by Spain 1-0 in the final in July in New Jersey. — ABC News, 6 Oct. 2026 Wednesday’s Senate vote, among its last before senators go home to campaign ahead of the election, fell short of the chamber’s 60-vote threshold to advance with a tally of 57-43. — Ramsey Touchberry, The Washington Examiner, 1 Oct. 2026 The language was removed, but some faculty said his assurances fell short. — Jaweed Kaleem, Los Angeles Times, 30 Sep. 2026 Access to mental health services also fell short of benchmarks, and some foster kids are still sleeping in child welfare offices and other unlicensed centers because other, more secure placements weren’t available, the report showed. — Laura Bauer, Kansas City Star, 22 Sep. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for fell short

fell flat

Phrase

The deal is Novo’s second since its investor day last week, when its pledges to boost growth with new drugs fell flat.

— Ed Silverman, STAT, 29 Sep. 2026
Instead, the administration has proposed cutting more than 9,400 of my fellow workers and launched a new effort to privatize TSA — Horizon 25 — after the TSA Gold+ privatization campaign fell flat.

— Hydrick Thomas, New York Daily News, 11 Sep. 2026

Definition of fell flat

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fells

fell short

fell short (of)

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“Fell short.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fell%20short. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of fell short

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