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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 In 2021 Google demonstrated the OTOC protocol on its Sycamore chip—a more error-prone, 53-qubit predecessor to Willow. Dan Garisto, Scientific American, 22 Oct. 2025 The former Gold Glover also had a league-leading 19 errors. Aaliyan Mohammed, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 Oct. 2025 CancelConfirm Share Include playlist An error occurred while retrieving sharing information. Dateline Nbc, NBC news, 22 Oct. 2025 The error affects 22 current and former employees at the Department of Health and Human Services, Marin County Counsel Brian Washington said. Richard Halstead, Mercury News, 22 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for error
Recent Examples of Synonyms for error
Noun
  • Let the rookie learn on the fly, make mistakes, and grow.
    Michael Gallagher, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 Oct. 2025
  • Get your fruit trees off to a strong start by avoiding these common planting mistakes.
    Lauren Landers, Better Homes & Gardens, 27 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Antipsychotic medications can reduce hallucinations and delusions, while therapies and rehabilitations can address specific concerns, like teaching cognitive techniques or enhancing social skills to interact with others.
    Taijuan Moorman, USA Today, 21 Oct. 2025
  • It is associated with hallucinations, delusions, and extremely disordered thinking and behavior that impair daily functioning and can be disabling.
    Vanessa Etienne, PEOPLE, 21 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • His biggest accident was no blunder in the mountains, but becoming a billionaire.
    Maya Silver, Outside, 20 Oct. 2025
  • Some began adding more blunders to the list when the Blue Jays dropped two games at the Rogers Centre to begin the ALCS — when Schneider offered up more pitching changes for fans to debate.
    Mitch Bannon, New York Times, 17 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Before 1999, violations could lead to a $10,000 fine, two years in prison and losing a liquor license.
    Hope Karnopp, jsonline.com, 27 Oct. 2025
  • The committee has made several allegations against Blain related to public records violations, bullying and harassment.
    Susan Gill Vardon, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • The video gives the illusion that the plane is cutting straight through the colorful arcs.
    Soo Kim, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Oct. 2025
  • That illusion was shattered Thursday when gambling and sports rigging schemes linked to the mob led to the arrests of 31 defendants, including Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups and former NBA player with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Miami Heat, Damon Jones.
    Alaa Elassar, CNN Money, 24 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage?
    Ingrid Vasquez, PEOPLE, 24 Oct. 2025
  • As Robert Kalmey observes, this moment encapsulates what Roman historians thought of as the worst of all of Octavius’s crimes against the state before becoming emperor.
    JSTOR Daily, JSTOR Daily, 23 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Foundation Rock also highlights her relationship with other protective deities, consistently linking her power to myths and the spiritual undertone of water.
    Maria Mocerino, Interesting Engineering, 25 Oct. 2025
  • Pitting vengeful ghosts against a backdrop of a supernatural love story, the film charmingly plays with genre to question how history and myth can probe collective and socio-political grief.
    Christian Blauvelt, IndieWire, 24 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Taken together, these triumphal and tragic elements constitute the ingredients for an epic historical narrative that defies all moralistic categories, a story rooted in the coexistence of grandeur and failure, brilliance and blindness, grace and sin.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 28 Oct. 2025
  • In an era of 51st-state tensions, there’s something psychically fitting about Canada, America’s top hat, being used to reenact so many of America’s sins.
    Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 23 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Error.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/error. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on error

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