fail vs ball up

fail and ball up both are verbs.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
fail	No	No	Yes	No
ball up	No	No	Yes	No

As verbs, ball up is a hyponym of fail; that is, ball up is a word with a more specific, narrower meaning than fail:

fail (verb)	ball up (verb)
stop operating or functioning	make a mess of, destroy or ruin
deteriorate
prove insufficient
disappoint, prove undependable to; abandon, forsake
become bankrupt or insolvent; fail financially and close
be unsuccessful
fail to get a passing grade
fail to do something; leave something undone
judge unacceptable
be unable
fall short in what is expected