words fail me

Idioms

I can't put my thoughts or feelings into words, especially because of surprise or shock, as in When she showed up at the wedding with all three ex-husbands—well, words fail me. [Second half of 1900s]

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

I would say words fail me, but they don’t.

From New York Times • Mar. 3, 2022

But beyond the camaraderie of my group, I still feel like the words fail me, or others are still not quite ready to receive them.

From Slate • Dec. 2, 2020

One Twitter user pointed out that the fine was more than not having a ticket, adding "words fail me".

From BBC • Mar. 3, 2018

On his personal blog, Mr. Reider wrote: …words fail me.

From New York Times • Mar. 11, 2010

I mean to say something—to assure him that I will last, maybe—but words fail me.

From "Divergent" by Veronica Roth

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023