fallible
adjective
Did you know?
“Humanum est errare” is a Latin expression that translates as “To err is human.” Of course, cynics might say that it is also human to deceive. The history of the word fallible simultaneously recognizes both of these character flaws. In modern usage, fallible refers to one’s ability to make mistakes, 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 fallere in English, all of which actually predate fallible, include fallacy (the earliest, now obsolete, meaning was “guile, trickery”), fault, false, and even fjail. Whoops, we mean fail.
Examples of fallible in a Sentence
Amanda Kay Montoya, The Conversation, 17 July 2025
People’s memories are fleeting and fallible, but GenAI can recall and polish our thinking, bringing our best selves to any conversation, analysis or recommendation.
—John Schneider, Forbes.com, 23 June 2025
Credit cards use sophisticated but fallible fraud detection algorithms to pick up any problematic charges.
—Christopher Elliott The Travel Troubleshooter, Sun Sentinel, 22 June 2025
As a portrait of a trailblazer, Costantini’s film shows us that heroes are fallible.
—Manuel Betancourt, Los Angeles Times, 16 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for fallible
Cite this Entry
“Fallible.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fallible. Accessed 8 Aug. 2025.
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fallible
adjective
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