fail vs mess up

fail and mess up both are verbs.

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

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

fail (verb)	mess up (verb)
stop operating or functioning	make a mess of or create disorder in
deteriorate	disturb the smoothness of
prove insufficient	make a mess of, destroy or ruin
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