fizzle

[ fiz-uhl ]

/ ˈfɪz əl /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR fizzle ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used without object), fiz·zled, fiz·zling.

to make a hissing or sputtering sound, especially one that dies out weakly.

Informal. to fail ignominiously after a good start (often followed by out): The reform movement fizzled out because of poor leadership.

noun

a fizzling, hissing, or sputtering.

Informal. a failure; fiasco.

Nearby words

Origin of fizzle

1525–35; earlier fysel to break wind, frequentative of *fise < Old Norse fīsa to break wind; akin to feist

SYNONYMS FOR fizzle

2. miscarry, collapse, founder.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR fizzle ON THESAURUS.COM

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for fizzle

Could Occupy Wall Street yet prove a harbinger rather than a fizzle?
The Dems’ Fork in the Road|David Frum|November 12, 2013|DAILY BEAST
He predicted that without more mobilization and pressure from outside, reform could “fizzle.”
How About that Filibuster Reform?|Justin Green|December 13, 2012|DAILY BEAST
But the thing about phenoms is they can come in hot and then fizzle into a lower voltage of play.
Jeremy Lin and the New York Knicks: The Science Behind Winning|Clark Merrefield|February 18, 2012|DAILY BEAST
If U.S.-Pakistan cooperation were in fact to fizzle, clearly such operations would be compromised.
Pakistan-U.S. Relations Frayed But Not Collapsing|Ron Moreau|April 14, 2011|DAILY BEAST

Protests have come and gone, and plans for large-scale demonstrations often fizzle.
"We Are All Khaled Said": Will the Revolution Come to Egypt?|Mike Giglio|January 22, 2011|DAILY BEAST
There was no use in trying to disguise the fact any longer; he was a fizzle.
Claim Number One|George W. (George Washington) Ogden
One only does this sort of thing when the function is a fizzle.
Mr. Punch In Society|Various
The fizzle is generally made because daddy and mama have a lot of foolish notions about bringing up girls.
Think|Col. Wm. C. Hunter
I hate to see things go so far and then make a fizzle of it.
Wheat and Huckleberries|Charlotte Marion (White) Vaile
The scene promised to be as big a “fizzle” as the one shot the previous day.
Ruth Fielding Down East|Alice B. Emerson

British Dictionary definitions for fizzle

fizzle

/ (ˈfɪzəl) /

verb (intr)

to make a hissing or bubbling sound

(often foll by out) informal to fail or die out, esp after a promising start

noun

a hissing or bubbling sound; fizz

informal an outright failure; fiasco

Word Origin for fizzle

C16: probably from obsolete fist to break wind

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for fizzle

fizzle

1530s, "to break wind without noise," probably altered from obsolete fist, from Middle English fisten "break wind" (see feisty) + frequentative suffix -le. Related: Fizzled; fizzling.

Noun sense of "failure, fiasco" is from 1846, originally U.S. college slang for "failure in an exam." Barnhart says it is "not considered as derived from the verb." The verb in this sense is from 1847.