fallibility

American  

[fal-uh-bil-i-tee] / ˌfæl əˈbɪl ɪ ti /

Rarely fallibleness

noun

1. liability to be deceived or mistaken.

   Many leaders fail to grasp that admissions of fallibility and uncertainty are actually signs of strength.

2. liability to be inaccurate or false, or to fall short of expectations.

   Banks are hoping to get a new card system up and running before the fallibility of the old one becomes public.

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Etymology

Origin of fallibility

fall(ible) ( def. ) + -ibility ( def. )

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Explanation

Fallibility is the tendency to be wrong or make mistakes. Your fallibility in guessing the number of jelly beans in a jar means you can't count on getting the number right and winning a prize. Fallibility is a quality that everyone has, since we all make misjudgments from time to time. You might remark on the fallibility of your little brother's plan to row a boat from Connecticut to Florida, especially if there's a hole in the boat and he's not a strong swimmer. The plan, in other words, has too many errors to work well. The Latin root is fallibilis, "liable to err or deceitful."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

fallibility

We also recognize ourselves in its fallibility, which creates a subconscious bond.

From Slate ● Sep. 27, 2026

Yet, “To Share a Stomach” lays down — gingerly, gently — an alternate connective thread, spun from a mutual recognition of fallibility.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026

Instead, “Confessions II” is Madonna’s message of what it means to be an artist, a mother and a woman — someone whose fallibility makes her human.

From Salon ● Jul. 8, 2026

And you can hardly hold against him McLaren's fallibility in Miami, or the issue with Russell's engine in Montreal.

From BBC ● Jun. 2, 2026

There is another protozoan, called blepharisma, telling a long story about the chanciness and fallibility of complex life.

From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas

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Related Words

• frailty

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