What does fallibility mean?
Fallibility is the quality of being capable of error — the condition of sometimes being wrong, mistaken, or deceived. It applies most often to human beings and their faculties, such as judgment, memory, and perception, but extends readily to institutions, technologies, and systems: we speak of the fallibility of experts, markets, algorithms, or forensic science. The word derives from the Latin verb fallere, "to deceive," via fallibilis, "liable to err," entering English in its modern form in the seventeenth century. Although it names a weakness, fallibility rarely functions as a harsh criticism. In contemporary writing it frequently appears with an affirmative valence: philosophers, scientists, and reformers invoke it to argue that knowledge must remain provisional and that institutions should be designed with human imperfection in mind. To acknowledge one's fallibility is widely regarded as a mark of intellectual honesty and humility rather than of incompetence, which is precisely what makes the term central to discussions of epistemology, ethics, and good decision-making.
nounThe quality or state of being capable of making mistakes or being wrong; liability to error.
- The inherent capacity of a person, institution, or system to make errors or be mistaken.
"The fallibility of human memory means eyewitness accounts should be treated with caution."
"Good engineering accepts the fallibility of its components and builds in redundancy."
"In his memoir, the judge reflected with unusual honesty on his own fallibility."
A rare plural, occasionally used to refer to multiple specific instances or types of error-proneness, but standard usage treats the noun as uncountable.
"The report catalogued the fallibilities of the aging navigation system."
Every scientific breakthrough rests on a word coined from our capacity to fail — fallibility comes straight from Latin 'fallere,' meaning 'to deceive.'
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of fallibility
Fallibility traces back to the Latin verb fallere, meaning "to deceive or disappoint," whose adjective form fallibilis described something liable to fail or mislead. The concept passed into scholastic philosophy, where debates about whether the pope could err gave rise to the contrasting term infallibility. English adopted both fallible and fallibility around the early seventeenth century, drawing on this Latin lineage. Related words sharing the same root include fallacy and fallacious, which concern deception and faulty reasoning.
Related word forms
How fallibility is actually used
Fallibility is an abstract noun of fairly formal register, common in academic, philosophical, and reflective writing. It carries no strong negative connotation; in modern usage it often appears approvingly, as acknowledging one's fallibility suggests humility and openness to correction. It is typically used as an uncountable mass noun ("the fallibility of experts") rather than in the plural.
Easily confused with fallibility
Infallibility is the exact opposite — the inability to be wrong — while fallibility is the capacity for error.