If you say that someone or something is fallible, you mean that they are not perfect and are likely to make mistakes or to fail in what they are doing.
[formal]
They are only human and all too fallible.
The system has proved fallible time after time.
Human reason is a fallible guide.
Synonyms: imperfect, weak, uncertain, ignorant More Synonyms of fallible
fallibility (fælɪbɪlɪti)uncountable noun
Errors may have been made due to human fallibility.
The fallibility of science is one of the great betrayals of our times.
fallible in British English
(ˈfælɪbəl)
adjective
1.
capable of being mistaken; erring
2.
liable to mislead
Derived forms
fallibility (ˌfalliˈbility) or fallibleness (ˈfallibleness)
noun
fallibly (ˈfallibly)
adverb
Word origin
C15: from Medieval Latin fallibilis, from Latin fallere to deceive
fallible in American English
(ˈfæləbəl)
adjective
1.
capable of making a mistake or being deceived
2.
liable to be erroneous or inaccurate
Derived forms
fallibility (ˌfalliˈbility) (ˈfæləˈbɪləti)
noun or ˈfallibleness
fallibly (ˈfallibly)
adverb
Word origin
ME < ML fallibilis < L fallere, to deceive: see fail
Examples of 'fallible' in a sentence
fallible
They are creatures of convenience, victims of their own fallible logic.
Reeves, Robert DOUBTING THOMAS (1994)
It was only his imagination, fallible and untrustworthy, that had caused his anxiety.
McCorquodale, Robin DANSVILLE (1994)
We started the day with the jauntiness of talented but fallible people who knew they had not, this time, fouled up.