misslyckat

Misslyckat is a Swedish adjective and past participle that means "failed" or "unsuccessful." It describes something that has not achieved its intended result, such as an attempt, plan, project, or venture. The word can be used both attributively before a noun and predicatively after a linking verb such as vara.

Forms and usage: Misslyckat is the neuter singular form. The common gender singular form is misslyckad, and the plural form is misslyckade. In definite forms, the endings may vary (for example, det misslyckade projektet). The term is closely related to misslyckas (to fail) and to the noun misslyckande (a failure).

Etymology: Misslyckat is built from the prefix miss- (indicating failure or negation) combined with lyck, derived from lyckas, meaning to succeed. The root lycka, meaning luck or fortune, underpins related forms such as lyckas and lyckad.

Usage context: Misslyckat is commonly used in neutral or descriptive contexts to report outcomes that did not meet expectations. It is frequently employed in journalism, business, science, and everyday speech to characterize unsuccessful attempts, experiments, or decisions. While it conveys a negative result, it does not inherently carry moral judgment.

Examples: Ett misslyckat försök att rädda situationen; Projektet var misslyckat; Företagets nya strategi ledde till ett misslyckat halvår.

See also: misslyckas, lyckas, lyckad, misslyckande.

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