fallible
Americanadjective
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(of persons) liable to err, especially in being deceived or mistaken.
-
liable to be erroneous or false; not accurate.
fallible information.
adjective
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capable of being mistaken; erring
-
liable to mislead
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of fallible
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English, from Medieval Latin fallibilis, equivalent to Latin fall(ī) (passive of fallere “to deceive”) + -ibilis -ible
Explanation
As humans we are all fallible, because fallible means likely to make errors or fail. Nobody's perfect, after all. Fall down on the job and you're fallible. It's a forgiving way to say you screwed up. If a scientific experiment's data is fallible, that means you can't trust the numbers. More than just locking your keys in the car, fallible can allude to a lack of moral strength. If in addition to locking your keys in the car, you kissed your best friend's husband, you might try using "I'm fallible" as your defense.
Vocabulary lists containing fallible
100 SAT Words Beginning with "F"
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A Wrinkle in Time
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They Called Us Enemy
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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.
It’s a human institution run by fallible human beings.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 27, 2026
Clemency used to be a consistent failsafe for an often fallible system.
From Slate • Mar. 6, 2026
So long as human bodies are fallible to disease, we will need labs studying viruses, bacteria, fungi and parasites to see which ones could cause major problems.
From Salon • Feb. 28, 2026
Director Marc Munden says he hopes those watching the new series get an understanding of how things can "go badly wrong" and how fallible people can be.
From BBC • Feb. 2, 2026
Since then, the claims of the postmodernists notwithstanding, we have learnt to develop reliable knowledge, even though we as human beings have continued to be as fallible as ever.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
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.
