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. )

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

“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

But the steady stream of bad choices emerging from Platner’s record goes beyond what voters might excuse as normal human fallibility.

From Slate • Jun. 2, 2026

John Ioannidis’s famous 2005 paper, “Why Most Published Research Findings Are False,” remains disturbing because its basic insight about the fallibility of medical research remains true.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 27, 2026

Her fallibility has been part of her likeability.

From BBC • Sep. 23, 2025

It was like having your soul X-rayed every day, scanned and rescanned for any sign of fallibility.

From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama

Related Words

• frailty