fallible

F4A1L1L1I1B3L1E1
UK/ˈfal.ɪ.bəl/UK[ˈfal.ɪ.bl̩]Australia, Canada, US/ˈfæl.ə.bəl/Australia, Canada, US[ˈfæl.ə.bl̩]

adjective

Capable of making mistakes or being wrong.

“prove fallible”

Similar
defectivefaultyfaultfulimperfecterranterringerror-proneundependable
Opposite
perfectinfallible
OriginMiddle English fallible ← Medieval Latin fallibilis ← Latin fallere →
UncommonScrabble 13
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok
Word of the Day · May 20, 2022

Meanings

adjectivefallible (comparative more fallible, superlative most fallible)

comparative more fallible · superlative most fallible

  1. Capable of making mistakes or being wrong.

    prove fallible

    3 more examples

    recognize as fallible

    Even the best doctors are fallible.

    He admitted he was fallible like anyone else.

  2. Capable of failure.

Synonyms & antonyms

Similar
defectivefaultyfaultfulimperfect
Opposite
perfectinfallible

adjectivelikely to fail or make errors

Similar
erranterringerror-proneundependableunreliableweak
Opposite
infallible

adjectivewanting in moral strength, courage, or will; having the attributes of man as opposed to e.g. divine beings

Similar
frailimperfectweakhuman
Also see
erranterringerror-pronefaultfulfrailhumanimperfectundependableunreliableweak

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Latinfallere“to deceive”
  2. Medieval Latinfallibilis“liable to err, also deceitful”
  3. Middle Englishfallible
  4. Englishfallible

From Middle English fallible, from Medieval Latin fallibilis (“liable to err, also deceitful”), from Latin fallere (“to deceive”).

More words from Middle English, Medieval Latin, Latin

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian склонен да греши
  • склонен да греши (sklonen da greši)capable of making mistakes or being wrong
Catalan fal·lible
  • fal·liblecapable of making mistakes or being wrong
Chinese Mandarin 殘缺的 /残缺的
  • 殘缺的 /残缺的 (cánquē de)capable of making mistakes or being wrong
Czech omylný
  • omylnýcapable of making mistakes or being wrong
Finnish erehtyväinen
  • erehtyväinencapable of making mistakes or being wrong
French faillible
  • failliblecapable of making mistakes or being wrong
German fehlbar
  • fehlbarcapable of making mistakes or being wrong
Italian fallibile
  • fallibilecapable of making mistakes or being wrong
Polish omylny
  • omylnycapable of making mistakes or being wrong
Portuguese falível
  • falívelcapable of making mistakes or being wrong
Russian подверженный ошибкам, ненадёжный
  • подверженный ошибкам (podveržennyj ošibkam)capable of making mistakes or being wrong
  • ненадёжный (nenadjóžnyj)capable of making mistakes or being wrong
  • подверженный отказам (podveržennyj otkazam)capable of making mistakes or being wrong
  • оши́бочный (ošíbočnyj)capable of making mistakes or being wrong
Spanish falible
  • faliblecapable of making mistakes or being wrong

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

fillable
Cite this entry
APA

fallible. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fallible

MLA

“fallible.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fallible. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “fallible,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fallible.

Source: fallible on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.