adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of erroneous
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin errōneus “straying,” equivalent to errōn- (stem of errō ) “wanderer” (derivative of err-; see err) + -eus adjective suffix ( see -eous)
Explanation
The adjective erroneous describes something or someone as mistaken and incorrect. Early explorers had the erroneous notion that the oceans were full of dragons. When we talk about being on the "straight and narrow path" we aim to live a truthful and moral life. The Latin root of erroneous, or "to be incorrect" as well as "to be immoral," is errare, which means "to wander." It's clear that we make connections between behavior and direction or space. These two ideas have been linked for a very long time!
Vocabulary lists containing erroneous
Grade 9, List 6
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This Week in Words: January 13 - 19, 2018
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30 GRE Words Beginning with "E" and "F"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Erroneous headlines — such as “Tesla superchargers in California now available for all electric vehicles” — began to appear.
From Los Angeles Times • May 2, 2024
Something like that must have been on the mind of the U.S. politician or bureaucrat who in the mid-1960s commissioned a wonderfully readable 48-page government report known internally as “The Erroneous Predictions Multilith.”
From Washington Post • Sep. 7, 2021
Erroneous inputs from an angle of attack sensor could put a Max 8 into a rapid descent, Boeing said in an advisory to customers.
From New York Times • Nov. 9, 2018
It’s the largest under the state’s Erroneous Conviction Program, although there have been larger awards to crime victims through other programs.
From Seattle Times • Feb. 15, 2018
Erroneous despatch A blundering despatch, mistakenly announcing the death of a friend, occasions the same grief that the friend's 386:18 real death would bring.
From Science and Health, with Key to the Scriptures by Eddy, Mary Baker
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
