fizzle

fizzle
fizzle fiz"zle (f[i^]z"z'l), v. i. [imp. & p. p. {fizzled} (f[i^]z"z'ld); p. pr. & vb. n. {fizzling} (f[i^]z"zl[i^]ng).] [See {Fizz}.] 1. To make a hissing sound. [1913 Webster]

It is the easiest thing, sir, to be done, As plain as fizzling. --B. Jonson. [1913 Webster]

2. To make a ridiculous failure in an undertaking, especially after a good start; to achieve nothing. [Colloq. or Low] [1913 Webster +PJC]

A four-day rally in stocks fizzled yesterday amid renewed fears that strong economic growth may prompt the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates. --Sharon R. King (N. Y. Times, May 6, 1998). [PJC]

{To fizzle out}, to burn with a hissing noise and then go out, like wet gunpowder; hence: to fail completely and ridiculously; to prove a failure. [Colloq.] [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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  • fizzle — ► VERB 1) make a feeble hissing or spluttering sound. 2) (fizzle out) end or fail in a weak or disappointing way. ► NOUN ▪ an instance of fizzling. ORIGIN probably imitative …   English terms dictionary

  • fizzle — fiz zle, n. A failure or abortive effort; a fiasco. [Colloq.] [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • fizzle — (v.) 1530s, to break wind without noise, probably altered from obsolete fist, from M.E. fisten break wind (see FEISTY (Cf. feisty)) + frequentative suffix le. Related: Fizzled; fizzling. Noun sense of failure, fiasco is from 1846, originally U.S …   Etymology dictionary

  • fizzle — [v] collapse, fall through abort, be a fiasco*, come to nothing*, die, end, end in defeat*, end in disappointment*, fail, fold, miscarry, misfire, miss the mark*, peter out*, wane; concept 699 Ant. build, develop, progress …   New thesaurus

  • fizzle — [fiz′əl] vi. fizzled, fizzling [ME fesilen, to break wind silently, akin to fisten: see FEIST] 1. to make a hissing or sputtering sound 2. Informal to fail, esp. after a successful beginning: often with out n. ☆ Informal an attempt that ends in… …   English World dictionary

  • fizzle — I = fizzle out fizzle UK [ˈfɪz(ə)l] / US or fizzle out UK / US verb [intransitive] Word forms fizzle : present tense I/you/we/they fizzle he/she/it fizzles present participle fizzling past tense fizzled past participle fizzled Word forms fizzle… …   English dictionary

  • fizzle — 1. verb the loudspeaker fizzled Syn: crackle, buzz, hiss, fizz, crepitate 2. noun 1) electric fizzle See fizz 2. 3) 2) the whole thing turned out to be a fizzle Syn: failure …   Thesaurus of popular words

  • fizzle — [“fizl] 1. n. a failure; something that sputters away. □ The whole project was a fizzle. □ Her first play was no fizzle. 2. n. to fail; to peter out. □ The whole plan fizzled, and we had to start over. □ …   Dictionary of American slang and colloquial expressions

  • fizzle — fiz|zle1 [ fızl ] or ,fizzle out verb intransitive to gradually fail, become less enthusiastic, or disappear, especially after starting successfully: The group s efforts at reform fizzled out after their leader left. fizzle fiz|zle 2 [ fızl ]… …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • fizzle — [16] Originally, fizzle meant ‘fart silently or unobtrusively’: ‘And then in court they poisoned one another with their fizzles’, Benjamin Walsh’s translation of Aristophanes’ Knights 1837. Then in the mid 19th century it started to be used for a …   The Hutchinson dictionary of word origins

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