as in reliable
not likely to fail
flowers have been traditionally regarded as the fail-safe gift for Valentine's Day
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in precaution
a measure taken to preclude loss or injury
there are so many fail-safes built into the system that a highly unlikely series of mistakes would have to be made before failure could occur
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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 fail-safe
Eero Teerikorpi, Forbes, 11 Mar. 2025
Senate leaders chose to plow ahead with their budget plan even after Mr. Trump endorsed the House’s one-big-bill approach on Wednesday, characterizing their measure as a fail-safe should the House falter.
—Catie Edmondson, New York Times, 21 Feb. 2025
Jeanna Smialek, New York Times, 21 Mar. 2023
Shop Now 10 Navy Blue In areas with strict historic guidelines, navy blue is often a fail-safe.
—Elle Decor Editors, ELLE Decor, 17 Mar. 2023
See All Example Sentences for fail-safe
Adjective
Combining these steps listed above can help to create a fail-safe ecosystem designed for modern software environments.
—Eero Teerikorpi, Forbes, 11 Mar. 2025
Senate leaders chose to plow ahead with their budget plan even after Mr. Trump endorsed the House’s one-big-bill approach on Wednesday, characterizing their measure as a fail-safe should the House falter.
—Catie Edmondson, New York Times, 21 Feb. 2025
Noun
The idea was to make bank oversight both stricter and more fail-safe.
—Jeanna Smialek, New York Times, 21 Mar. 2023
Shop Now 10 Navy Blue In areas with strict historic guidelines, navy blue is often a fail-safe.
—Elle Decor Editors, ELLE Decor, 17 Mar. 2023
See All Example Sentences for fail-safe
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fail-safe
Adjective
-
To be fair to les frères Dardennes, there is a reliable level of unshowy competence as well as an integrity to their insistence on embedding with unglamorous, recognizable people.—
Sophie Monks Kaufman,
IndieWire,
23 May 2025
-
The problem with inland water Environmental scientists have a reliable way of monitoring the water quality at popular coastal beaches, often by taking samples on a daily or weekly basis.—
Angela Haupt,
Time,
23 May 2025
Noun
-
Melvin and Verlander are looking at it as a necessary precaution and outwardly have expressed confidence that his stuff will bounce back.—
Jerry McDonald,
Mercury News,
23 May 2025
-
Travelers are advised to exercise normal precautions when traveling in the country.—
Michael Cappetta,
Travel + Leisure,
23 May 2025
Adjective
-
According to some social media influencers, all those facial movements are a surefire way to get wrinkles and look old.—
Gwen Rockwood,
Arkansas Online,
22 May 2025
-
Crocs, Teva, Vionic, and More Have Sandals Up to 80% Off at Nordstrom Rack—Shop the Best Deals Under $50 Best Overall Sandal Deals Adding a pair (or two, or three) of new sandals to your arsenal at the beginning of the summer is a surefire way to get your warm-weather travel wardrobe up to speed.—
Amber Love Bond,
Travel + Leisure,
21 May 2025
Noun
-
Padlocks, sickles and other objects made of iron, a metal said to possess anti-demonic powers, were stashed in the grave as preventives.—
Franz Lidz,
New York Times,
5 Sep. 2023
-
But although human vaccines function primarily as preventives, offering immunity to animals such as black-footed ferrets can be a conservation strategy of last resort.—
Katherine J. Wu,
The Atlantic,
15 June 2023
Adjective
-
His willingness openly to admit failings and reverse earlier decisions was remarkable, given that historically popes have been believed infallible.—
Christopher Lamb,
CNN Money,
24 Apr. 2025
-
Analyst rating of buy or strong buy: Analysts are not infallible, but their opinions are well-informed.—
Catherine Brock,
Forbes.com,
5 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Fail-safe.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fail-safe. Accessed 29 May. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share