Synonyms and antonyms of Likely to fail in American Thesaurus

hopeless (adjective)

if a situation is hopeless, it seems very unlikely to succeed or improve

unworkable (adjective)

not practical, and therefore unlikely to be successful

unpromising (adjective)

unlikely to be satisfactory or successful

disadvantageous (adjective)

unlikely to produce a successful result or be effective

precarious (adjective)

not safe or likely to fall

shaky (adjective)

likely to fail or be unsuccessful

on the rocks ()

if a business or relationship is on the rocks, it is having serious difficulties and is likely to fail soon

not have a hope in hell ()

to have no chance of achieving something

uncompetitive (adjective)

unable to compete successfully with other businesses or products

faltering (adjective)

becoming less effective and successful

a long shot ()

an attempt or guess that is not likely to be successful but that is worth trying

an exercise in futility ()

a useless action that cannot succeed

a pointless exercise ()

a waste of time

at a disadvantage ()

less likely to succeed than other people or things

be for the chop ()

to be likely to be stopped or ended, usually because of a lack of success

be in/out of the running ()

to have some chance/no chance of success

the cards are stacked against someone ()

used for saying that someone will probably fail

the cards/odds are stacked against you ()

used for saying that you are likely to fail, often because people are being unfair

dead in the water ()

completely unlikely to succeed

don’t give up the/your day job ()

used for telling someone that you do not think that they will be successful if they try to change their career

don’t waste your breath ()

used for telling someone not to try to persuade someone else, because they will never succeed

dying (adjective)

a dying tradition, industry, activity, etc. is not likely to exist much longer

fighting a losing battle ()

trying to achieve something that you will probably not be able to achieve

fucked (adjective)

offensive an extremely offensive word that means having no chance of success

going to the dogs ()

if a place or organization is going to the dogs, it is not as good as it was in the past

the handwriting is on the wall ()

used for saying that it seems likely something will soon stop existing

hang by a thread ()

to be very likely to fail

harebrained (adjective)

silly or very unlikely to succeed

ill-fated (adjective)

mainly journalism likely to end in failure or death

ill-starred (adjective)

mainly literary not lucky and likely to fail, cause problems, or have problems

in a state of collapse ()

used about something such as an organization or system that has nearly stopped operating or existing

inauspicious (adjective)

formal something that is inauspicious makes you think that success is not likely

in tatters ()

something such as a plan or an agreement that is in tatters has been spoiled and will probably fail

it’s no use ()

used for saying that something is not likely to have a successful result

(living) on borrowed time ()

likely to fail or die very soon

look good/bad ()

to seem to be going to have a good/bad result

misbegotten (adjective)

formal not well planned and not likely to be successful

noncompetitive (adjective)

unable to compete against other businesses or organizations

not a hope/chance in hell ()

no hope or chance at all

not have a prayer ()

to not have a chance or possibility of success

not have a snowball’s chance (in hell) ()

to have no chance of doing or having something

off track ()

unlikely to be successful or correct

on the ropes ()

having serious problems, and likely to fail

on the skids ()

in a bad situation and likely to fail

overambitious (adjective)

used about someone’s plans or intentions

quixotic (adjective)

mainly literary ideas or plans that are quixotic are not practical and usually do not succeed

riding for a fall ()

too confident or taking too many risks, so that you are likely to fail badly

screwed up (adjective)

informal a plan that is screwed up is spoiled

someone’s/something’s days are numbered ()

someone or something is not likely to continue in a particular situation or to exist much longer

there’s no use (in) doing something ()

used for saying that something you do is not likely to have a successful result

unfavorable (adjective)

an unfavorable situation or set of conditions is one that involves difficult problems and makes success harder to achieve

untenable (adjective)

impossible to continue because of serious problems, opposition, or criticism

until/till you are blue in the face ()

used for saying that there is no use in trying to persuade someone to do something because you will not succeed

what’s the use? ()

used for saying that something is not likely to have a successful result, and so there is no point in doing it

you can’t win ()

used for saying that no matter what you do, you will not succeed