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
Examples Sentences
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Recent Examples of fail-safe
Eyal Solomon, Forbes, 19 Sep. 2024
Traditional formalwear ruled the red carpet, with most gents opting for classic suits and fail-safe dress watches.
—Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, 16 Sep. 2024
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
Robust fail-safe mechanisms are crucial to prevent data loss if the mediation layer encounters issues, ensuring uninterrupted communication with the API provider.
—Eyal Solomon, Forbes, 19 Sep. 2024
Traditional formalwear ruled the red carpet, with most gents opting for classic suits and fail-safe dress watches.
—Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, 16 Sep. 2024
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
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Eisenberg, who co-stars here with Kieran Culkin, wrote himself a role that suits him ever so well, playing the by-the-book, uptight David, a married man with a reliable job and a reliable life.Randy Myers, The Mercury News, 13 Nov. 2024
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Chief among those potentially destabilizing forces is that a fellow Republican will be in the White House — a reliable drag on GOP members of Congress during midterm elections.John Aguilar, The Denver Post, 12 Nov. 2024
Noun
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The Secret Service put additional precautions in place for the former president after he was targeted in an assassination attempt this summer.Sarah Fortinsky, The Hill, 4 Nov. 2024
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From about July 2016 to May 2018, Divers circumvented these precautions by opening bank accounts in the name of Kodiak but as the only account signatory, authorities said.Caelyn Pender, The Mercury News, 2 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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Facing Steve Spagnuolo is almost a surefire way to suffer a crisis of confidence and statistics.Troy Renck, The Denver Post, 6 Nov. 2024
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Open Edit Luxe Sculpt Maxi Skirt Knit maxi skirts are a surefire way to transition the warm-weather staple piece into the fall and winter.Emily Belfiore, Travel + Leisure, 2 Nov. 2024
Noun
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Indeed, failure to do so proved disastrous for some early human trials of preventives.David J. Waters, Scientific American, 1 Sep. 2015
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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
Adjective
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Denver’s not infallible by any stretch, but it’s played well on defense and special teams most of the season, and the run game has ramped up in recent weeks.Matt Schubert, The Denver Post, 27 Oct. 2024
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No one is infallible, of course, and a desire to hold people accountable could be taken too far.Stephen M. Walt, Foreign Affairs, 16 Apr. 2019
Thesaurus Entries Near fail-safe
Cite this Entry
“Fail-safe.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fail-safe. Accessed 23 Nov. 2024.
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