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Synonym Chooser

How does the noun error differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of error are blunder, lapse, mistake, and slip. While all these words mean "a departure from what is true, right, or proper," error suggests the existence of a standard or guide and a straying from the right course through failure to make effective use of this.

procedural errors

When would blunder be a good substitute for error?

While the synonyms blunder and error are close in meaning, blunder regularly imputes stupidity or ignorance as a cause and connotes some degree of blame.

diplomatic blunders

When can lapse be used instead of error?

The words lapse and error are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, lapse stresses forgetfulness, weakness, or inattention as a cause.

a lapse in judgment

When is it sensible to use mistake instead of error?

In some situations, the words mistake and error are roughly equivalent. However, mistake implies misconception or inadvertence and usually expresses less criticism than error.

dialed the wrong number by mistake

When could slip be used to replace error?

Although the words slip and error have much in common, slip stresses inadvertence or accident and applies especially to trivial but embarrassing mistakes.

a slip of the tongue

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of error As of late morning on Tuesday, a link to Trump Mobile's coverage map returned an error, saying the page could not be found. USA Today, 18 June 2025 Florida not-for-profits receive sanctions and lose grants for errors such as these. Glen Casel, The Orlando Sentinel, 18 June 2025 The government has admitted in court that his deportation was an administrative error. Kaelan Deese, The Washington Examiner, 7 June 2025 In 2018, a study by MIT Media Lab revealed that commercial AI systems had error rates of up to 34% for darker-skinned women, compared to just 1% for lighter-skinned men. Jessica Smith, Time, 6 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for error
Recent Examples of Synonyms for error
Noun
  • Here are the five hidden profile mistakes that stop your ideal clients getting in touch.
    Jodie Cook, Forbes.com, 27 June 2025
  • Jumping onto Andrew Cuomo’s leaky ship was a devastating mistake for the pro-Israel movement.
    David Weigel, semafor.com, 27 June 2025
Noun
  • Among these, schizophrenia, a complex mental health condition marked by hallucinations, delusions, and disorganized thinking, stands out.
    William A. Haseltine, Forbes.com, 19 June 2025
  • Ultimately, there may be no way for Israel to escape its smart-bomb delusion—or another quagmire in the Middle East.
    Robert A. Pape, Foreign Affairs, 17 June 2025
Noun
  • Even with good intentions, these salon blunders are better avoided, according to experts.
    Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 19 June 2025
  • Other big moments in Trump’s presidency include the leak of U.S. military attack plans to Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg, what was widely considered to be the first major blunder of his second term.
    Sara Dorn, Forbes.com, 16 June 2025
Noun
  • Teachers need frameworks for distinguishing between appropriate AI use and academic integrity violations.
    Sarah Hernholm, Forbes.com, 19 June 2025
  • In addition to excessive force, the complaint claimed denial of medical care, governmental liability, supervisory liability, wrongful death and survival action, and that the actions of the law enforcement officers constituted a violation of the Arkansas Civil Rights Act of 1993.
    Dale Ellis, Arkansas Online, 19 June 2025
Noun
  • And if anyone was naive enough to imagine the U.S.-led tournament in 2026 would be free of such political baggage, then surely the increasingly public proximity of the Trump-Infantino relationship has dispelled those illusions.
    Oliver Kay, New York Times, 20 June 2025
  • The entire spectacle is, of course, a line-of-sight illusion — all three objects extremely far from each other.
    Jamie Carter, Forbes.com, 20 June 2025
Noun
  • In her 30-year career, Laura has won numerous national awards for coverage of human trafficking, child welfare, crime and government secrecy.
    Laura Bauer, Kansas City Star, 23 June 2025
  • Her only 'crime' seems to be coming from the 'wrong' country.
    Billal Rahman, MSNBC Newsweek, 23 June 2025
Noun
  • When the photographer Víctor Zea was a child living in Lima, Peru, he was taught an Inca myth of origin.
    Ana Karina Zatarain, New Yorker, 21 June 2025
  • Getting up to speed on the modern-day reality of actual EV usage and charging habits proves to be the antidote to overcoming the ever-fading yet persistent myth of range anxiety.
    Melanie Marshall, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 June 2025
Noun
  • The fact is, Sinners is not about sin in the religious sense but more about America’s most significant secular violation: its refusal to face itself.
    Sughnen Yongo, Forbes.com, 19 June 2025
  • Yet no former secretary of state has been more vehemently criticized, most notably for sins of omission and commission in countries such as Bangladesh, Cambodia, Chile and East Timor.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 18 June 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Error.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/error. Accessed 1 Jul. 2025.

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