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fizzle.

To sputter or hiss.

6 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

verb/ˈfɪzəl/UK, US

  1. To sputter or hiss.

    The soda fizzled for several minutes after it was poured.

  2. To decay or die off to nothing; to burn out; to end less successfully than previously hoped.

    figuratively · informal
    The entire project fizzled after the founder quit.

  3. To fail to generate the expected yield when exploded during testing.

    The shot fizzled, generating only 200 tons rather than the 30 kilotons they were aiming for.
Where this word comes from

Attested in English since 1525-35. From earlier fysel (“to fart”). Related to fīsa (“to fart”). Compare with Swedish fisa (“to fart (silently)”). See also feist. It could also come from old Norse: "fise" simply means "blow," like in "blow in the wind." A weather-exposed community in Rogaland, Norway, is called Fister. (In modern language, the verb "fisle" has the same 3 meanings as in English, see below.)

noun/ˈfɪzəl/UK, US

  1. A spluttering or hissing sound.

  2. Failure of an exploding nuclear bomb to meet its expected yield during testing.

  3. An abortive effort; a flop or dud.

  4. A state of agitation or worry.

Where this word comes from

Attested in English since 1525-35. From earlier fysel (“to fart”). Related to fīsa (“to fart”). Compare with Swedish fisa (“to fart (silently)”). See also feist. It could also come from old Norse: "fise" simply means "blow," like in "blow in the wind." A weather-exposed community in Rogaland, Norway, is called Fister. (In modern language, the verb "fisle" has the same 3 meanings as in English, see below.)

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.