fail vs seal

fail

verb
  • Of a machine, etc.: to cease to operate correctly. 

  • Not to achieve a particular stated goal. (Usage note: The direct object of this word is usually an infinitive.) 

  • To become unable to meet one's engagements; especially, to be unable to pay one's debts or discharge one's business obligation; to become bankrupt or insolvent. 

  • To receive one or more non-passing grades in academic pursuits. 

  • To give a student a non-passing grade in an academic endeavour. 

  • To be wanting to, to be insufficient for, to disappoint, to desert; to disappoint one's expectations. 

  • To be wanting; to fall short; to be or become deficient in any measure or degree up to total absence. 

  • To neglect. 

  • To be unsuccessful. 

adj
  • Unsuccessful; inadequate; unacceptable in some way. 

noun
  • A failure, especially of a financial transaction (a termination of an action). 

  • A failure (condition of being unsuccessful). 

  • A failing grade in an academic examination. 

  • Poor quality; substandard workmanship. 

  • A failure (something incapable of success). 

  • A piece of turf cut from grassland. 

seal

verb
  • To fasten (something) so that it cannot be opened without visible damage. 

  • To place a seal on (a document). 

  • To confirm or set apart as a second or additional wife. 

  • To guarantee. 

  • To close securely to prevent leakage. 

  • To place in a sealed container. 

  • To prevent people or vehicles from crossing (something). 

  • To tie up animals (especially cattle) in their stalls. 

  • To mark with a stamp, as an evidence of standard exactness, legal size, or merchantable quality. 

  • To form a sacred commitment. 

  • To hunt seals. 

  • To place a notation of one's next move in a sealed envelope to be opened after an adjournment. 

  • To fix, as a piece of iron in a wall, with cement or plaster, etc. 

  • To close by means of a seal. 

  • To fry (meat) at a high temperature to retain the juices. 

noun
  • An impression of such stamp on wax, paper or other material used for sealing. 

  • A bearing representing a creature something like a walrus. 

  • Anything that secures or authenticates. 

  • A tight closure, secure against leakage. 

  • Something which will be visibly damaged if a covering or container is opened, and which may or may not bear an official design. 

  • A chakra. 

  • A design or insignia usually associated with an organization or an official role. 

  • Confirmation or approval, or an indication of this. 

  • A stamp used to impress a design on a soft substance such as wax. 

  • Something designed to prevent liquids or gases from leaking through a joint. 

  • A pinniped (Pinnipedia), particularly an earless seal (true seal) or eared seal. 

How often have the words fail and seal occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )