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

Recognizing your fallibility and limitations, as Warren Buffett and the late Charlie Munger have said repeatedly, is what makes good investors great.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 10, 2026

Bong isn’t convinced that our machines will ever outpace human control — or fallibility.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 5, 2025

Afterwards, the musician realised that one simple moment of fallibility had put the audience on his side.

From BBC • Nov. 27, 2024

It’s one that takes the form of three streaming series dedicated to revealing the designers behind the clothes; to stripping off the masks of the monstres sacrés and exposing them in all their human fallibility.

From New York Times • Jun. 19, 2024

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

Related Words

• frailty