What does errable mean?
"Errable" is a rare formal adjective meaning capable of erring — that is, liable to make mistakes. It is typically used to describe people, institutions, or processes whose judgments cannot be fully trusted because human error is always possible: an errable witness, an errable memory, an errable system of record-keeping. The word carries no strong emotional charge; it functions as a sober, often philosophical acknowledgment of human imperfection, frequently appearing in contrast with its antonym "infallible." In everyday speech and writing it is uncommon, having been largely displaced by "fallible," but it retains value in legal, theological, and scholarly contexts where precision matters — for instance, in debates about whether a church council or a court's finding is infallible or merely errable. Its root is the Latin verb errare, "to wander or stray," the same source as "error" and "erratic," so the word literally suggests straying from the correct path.
adjectiveCapable of erring or making mistakes; liable to error.
- Capable of erring or making mistakes; liable to error (often contrasted with 'infallible').
"Even the most careful auditor is errable, which is why systems need built-in checks."
"The court recognized that witnesses are errable and that testimony must therefore be corroborated."
"No matter how rigorous the review process, the editors remained errable."
Humans are famously fallible — but if you want a rarer word for the same idea, "errable" has been hiding in English since the 1600s.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does errable come from?
"Errable" derives from the Latin verb errare, meaning "to wander, stray, or go astray," combined with the adjectival suffix -able. It entered English in the seventeenth century alongside other Latinate formations from the same root, such as "errant," "erroneous," and "erratic." Its close synonym "fallible" (from Latin fallere, "to deceive") ultimately proved more popular, leaving "errable" as a comparatively rare but well-formed alternative.
How errable is actually used
"Errable" is rare and largely confined to formal or philosophical writing; "fallible" is the far more common everyday choice for the same meaning.
Easily confused with errable
"Arable" describes land suitable for growing crops, while "errable" means capable of making mistakes.