Mislyktes

Mislyktes is the past tense of the Norwegian verb mislykkes, meaning to fail or be unsuccessful. It is used to describe a situation, plan, project, or effort that did not achieve its intended outcome. The word is common in both Bokmål and Nynorsk and can refer to failures in contexts ranging from business to experiments or personal endeavors.

Etymology and form: mislykkes combines the negating prefix mis- with lykkes, which is related to the concept of luck or success. The form mislyktes marks the simple past tense: for example, “Prosjektet mislyktes.” The present tense is mislykkes, as in “Prosjektet mislykkes.”

Usage and nuance: Mislyktes conveys a clear sense of a completed failure in the past. It is intransitive, typically used with a subject that is the thing that failed, without a direct object. In contrast, lykkes means to succeed, and feile can mean to make a mistake or fail in a broader sense. The term is commonly used in journalism, reporting, analysis, and everyday language to describe outcomes that did not meet expectations.

See also: lykkes, feile, misslykkes, failure in Norwegian discourse.