What does faultful mean?
'Faultful' is a rare English adjective meaning full of faults, flaws, or defects. Applied to a text, a plan, or a piece of work, it signals that imperfections are numerous and evident; applied to a person, it can carry the older sense of deserving blame. The word dates back to at least the sixteenth century and derives from 'fault', which entered English through Old French from the Latin 'fallere', meaning to deceive or trip up. In contemporary usage it has been almost entirely supplanted by the far more common 'faulty', which covers defective goods and malfunctioning systems, so 'faultful' now appears chiefly in literary, historical, or deliberately archaic writing. Its scarcity is part of its appeal: choosing 'faultful' over 'flawed' lends a sentence a formal, almost moralizing tone, as though the faults in question were being formally tallied. Writers who reach for it should be aware that many readers will find it unfamiliar.
adjectiveFull of faults or defects; marked by flaws or imperfections.
- Full of faults, defects, or imperfections (of things, works, or conduct).
- Deserving of blame or censure; blameworthy (a rarer, older sense applied to persons).
"The committee rejected the faultful manuscript, citing errors on nearly every page."
"Reviewers called the report faultful, noting inconsistent data throughout."
"He confessed with a faultful conscience, aware of every wrong he had done."
While 'faulty' describes your broken toaster, its obscure cousin 'faultful' has been quietly cataloguing human imperfection since the 1500s.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of faultful
'Faultful' is formed from 'fault' plus the suffix '-ful', indicating abundance. The root word 'fault' came into English from Old French 'faute' (itself from Latin 'fallita'), ultimately deriving from the Latin verb 'fallere', 'to deceive or disappoint'. The same Latin root gave English a family of related terms including 'default', 'failure', and 'fallacy'. The adjective has been attested since roughly the sixteenth century but never achieved the currency of its sibling 'faulty'.
Related word forms
How faultful is actually used
A rare and somewhat archaic word, largely displaced in modern English by 'faulty' and 'flawed'. It survives mainly in literary or historical contexts, where it can describe either flawed works or blameworthy people. Because it is so uncommon, using it may read as deliberately formal or antiquarian rather than everyday speech.
Easily confused with faultful
'Faulty' is the common adjective for something defective or malfunctioning, while 'faultful' is a much rarer word emphasizing being full of faults or blame.