FELL FLAT Synonyms: 59 Similar and Opposite Words

fell flat

phrase

past tense of fall flat

as in collapsed

to be unsuccessful Her performance fell flat despite weeks of rehearsing.

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as in fell short

to go wrong Their game plan fell flat when their star player suffered an injury.

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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.

Recent Examples of fell flat And contrary to popular belief, not all of last year’s big premieres fell flat at the Lido. — Nate Jones, Vulture, 2 Sep. 2026 The habeas corpus action represented a last-ditch legal effort by Maxwell to secure her release after her appeals fell flat. — Molly Crane-Newman, New York Daily News, 25 Aug. 2026 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 But when the game still mattered, when the starters were out there, the Panthers fell flat. — Alex Zietlow, Charlotte Observer, 15 Aug. 2026 Sauro, who posted a video of the debate exchange on Facebook late last week, said Leary’s Monday apology letter fell flat. — Lance Reynolds, Boston Herald, 28 July 2026 Even the president’s jokes about his bad jokes fell flat, and he was widely ridiculed for the comedy routine afterward. — Brian Stelter, CNN Money, 25 July 2026 But many of the shows, other than The Morning Show, fell flat with audiences. — Rebecca Ford, Vanity Fair, 23 July 2026 After recording a convincing win in its first matchup with Denver, the Current fell flat in the second half of what had been a tight contest at Orlando. — Daniel Sperry, Kansas City Star, 15 July 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for fell flat

fell short

Phrase

An effort by the statewide county superintendents association to limit that authority fell short last week when its proposal was never introduced as a bill.

— Chaewon Chung, Sacbee.com, 1 Sep. 2026
When applied to the creative industries, traditional solutions fell short for the average creator.

— Coco Mao, Forbes.com, 1 Sep. 2026

Definition of fell short

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felled

fell flat

fell for

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“Fell flat.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fell%20flat. Accessed 5 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of fell flat

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