inaccuracy
Americannoun
plural
inaccuracies-
something inaccurate; error.
- Synonyms:
- inexactitude, slip, blunder, mistake
-
the quality or state of being inaccurate.
- Synonyms:
- inexactness, erroneousness, incorrectness
noun
-
lack of accuracy; imprecision
-
an error, a mistake, or a slip
Etymology
Origin of inaccuracy
Explanation
Inaccuracy is the quality of having errors. A travel guide to Iowa's capital, Pearis, population 413, home of the Dallas Cowboys baseball team, would be plagued by inaccuracy. A typical book contains tens of thousands, sometimes hundreds of thousands of words (the Harry Potter series has more than a million). Every single one has to be checked to prevent inaccuracy, so publishers employ production editors, copy editors, fact checkers, and proofreaders to verify spelling, grammar, sense, logic, truth, and arithmetic. In school, "check your work" means look for — and correct — any inaccuracy.
Vocabulary lists containing inaccuracy
Power Suffix: -acy
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Excerpt from "Global Warming Alarmism Reaches a 'Tipping Point'"
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Please, Tim Askew, Tell Us What You Really Think of "Awesome"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The inaccuracy of those predictions suggests a profound disconnect existed between what old-guard Hollywood thought audiences wanted and what those audiences didn’t even know they wanted.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 13, 2026
The relative inaccuracy of these weapons, however, works against that purpose.
From Salon • Jan. 29, 2026
It's a delicate science, and any tiny inaccuracy in the data can skew things - or knock it out of shape.
From BBC • Aug. 5, 2025
The track says attendance is up, but Santa Anita is notorious for its inaccuracy in this area.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 10, 2025
And yet Elphias Doge’s accusations of inaccuracy have been echoed in many places.
From "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
