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Definition of fallible
1 : liable to be erroneous a fallible generalization
2 : capable of making a mistake we're all fallible
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fallible was our Word of the Day on 01/05/2015. Hear the podcast!
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Recent Examples of fallible from the Web
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The fact that most of the people who hold authority in our lives due to their expertise are fallible can be hard to come to grips with.
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Journalism scandals are all too common: Reporters are as fallible as the practitioners of any other profession, and because the press loves to cover itself, such stories receive great attention.
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Machines are as fallible as —and they can’t be shamed into better behavior. •
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In short, Karim writes realistic, fallible, complex characters.
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The error proves, once again, that journalists are fallible.
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A photo is a representation, a conduit for the real thing, one that is both fallible and changeable.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'fallible'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Did You Know?
Errare humanum est. That Latin expression translates into English as "To err is human." Of course, cynics might say that it is also human to deceive. The word fallible simultaneously recognizes both of these human character flaws. In modern usage, it refers to one's ability to err, but it descends from the Latin verb fallere, which means "to deceive." Fallible has been used to describe the potential for error since at least the 15th century. Other descendants of the deceptive fallere in English, all of which actually predate fallible, include fallacy (the earliest, now obsolete, meaning was "guile, trickery"), fault, false, and even fail and failure.
Origin and Etymology of fallible
Middle English, from Medieval Latin fallibilis, from Latin fallere
FALLIBLE Defined for English Language Learners
fallible
playDefinition of fallible for English Language Learners
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: capable of making mistakes or being wrong
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Spanish Central: Translation of fallible Nglish: Translation of fallible for Spanish speakers
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