fallible

American  

[fal-uh-buhl] / ˈfæl ə bəl /

adjective

1. (of persons) liable to err, especially in being deceived or mistaken.

2. liable to be erroneous or false; not accurate.

   fallible information.

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fallible British  

/ ˈfælɪbəl /

adjective

1. capable of being mistaken; erring

2. liable to mislead

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Other Word Forms

• fallibility noun
• fallibleness noun
• fallibly adverb

Etymology

Origin of fallible

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English, from Medieval Latin fallibilis, equivalent to Latin fall(ī) (passive of fallere “to deceive”) + -ibilis -ible

Example Sentences

They took an absurdly gifted, if fallible France team to the very last second and backed up their endorsements of head coach Steve Borthwick in interviews, with actions on the pitch.

From BBC

Stick shifts are also slower than their auto-shifted counterparts from 0-60 mph—due to the fleshy, fallible widgets sitting in the driver’s seat.

From The Wall Street Journal

So long as human bodies are fallible to disease, we will need labs studying viruses, bacteria, fungi and parasites to see which ones could cause major problems — and we can’t do this work in isolation.

From Salon

Bentley leveled the playing field by creating a fallible detective against whom the reader could compete.

From The Wall Street Journal

Director Marc Munden says he hopes those watching the new series get an understanding of how things can "go badly wrong" and how fallible people can be.

From BBC

Related Words

• faulty
• frail
• imperfect
• untrustworthy