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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.

Examples of fallible in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Kelly also argued that because of potentially fallible terminal diagnoses, people may be cutting their own lives short just off a doctor’s estimation. — Simon Levien, BostonGlobe.com, 10 June 2022 Trivino is far from the only fallible A’s reliever of late. — Matt Kawahara, San Francisco Chronicle, 9 June 2022 MIAMI - Eric Lauer has not looked fallible much during the 2022 season. — Curt Hogg, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 14 May 2022 The Milwaukee Brewers' dynamic bullpen, after all, is fallible. — Curt Hogg, Journal Sentinel, 6 July 2022 Many people now blame computer trading and portfolio insurance, both still in their infancy and highly fallible. — Frank Holmes, Forbes, 16 June 2022 Any system designed by fallible people is subject to design flaws, human error, and happenstance, as the terrifying history of nuclear near-misses demonstrates. — David Faris, The Week, 24 Mar. 2022 Popeye is fallible but has long lived by his own moral code — a consistent trait that dates back to Segar’s creation. — Michael Cavna, Washington Post, 3 June 2022 There’s both threat and promise in the therapeutic encounter: the ineffable, fallible, and intimate play between two strangers, one witnessed and one witnessing, talking it out. — Ana Cecilia Alvarez, The Atlantic, 1 May 2022 See More

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.