Misslyckad

Misslyckad is a Swedish adjective meaning failed or unsuccessful. It describes outcomes, plans, attempts, or efforts that did not succeed. The word is formed from miss- (a negating prefix) and lyckad (successful). It is commonly used to evaluate results in contexts such as projects, experiments, strategies, or endeavors.

In ordinary usage, misslyckad agrees with the noun it modifies in gender and number. For example, en misslyckad plan (a failed plan), två misslyckade planer (two failed plans), ett misslyckat försök (a failed attempt). The neuter form end in -at, while the plural ends in -ade. The term is most often applied to outcomes rather than to people, since describing a person as misslyckad can be harsh; more neutral expressions are typically preferred when referring to individuals.

Related linguistic forms include misslyckande, a noun meaning failure or the act of failing, and the verb misslyckas, meaning to fail or to be unsuccessful. These forms enable a range of expressions such as “planen var misslyckad” or “försöket misslyckades.”

Examples of usage include: “Planen visade sig vara misslyckad.” (The plan turned out to be a failure.) “Det var ett misslyckat försök att nå målet.” (That was a failed attempt to reach the goal.) Misslyckad is a neutral, descriptive term commonly found in journalism, academia, and everyday Swedish when assessing results.