infallible

C2 Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ɪnˈfæl.ɪ.bl̩/ See IPA manual

Freq #23662

Meanings

1

adj
Never wrong; incapable of making a mistake.

Even the most experienced doctors are not infallible.
2

adj
Certain to work or produce the intended result.

She swears by her grandmother's infallible cure for hiccups.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

2 adj · certain to work or produce... sure

More faultlessindefectiveinerrantperfect

Opposites

defectiveerror-pronefallible faultful faulty imperfect

Word family

Derived forms infalliblenessnoninfallible

Related forms infallibility infallibly

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

infallible memory
an ability to recall things without making mistakes

Adjective + noun

Etymology

From Medieval Latin infallibilis, from Latin in- + fallibilis. Compare French infaillible. By surface analysis, in- + fallible.

infallibilis la-med in- Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# infallible

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /ɪnˈfæl.ɪ.bl̩/
**Frequency rank:** 23662

## Meanings
1. Never wrong; incapable of making a mistake.
2. Certain to work or produce the intended result.

## Examples
- Even the most experienced doctors are not infallible.
- She swears by her grandmother's infallible cure for hiccups.

## Synonyms
- faultless
- indefective
- inerrant
- perfect

## Antonyms
- defective
- error-prone
- fallible
- faultful
- faulty
- imperfect

## Derived Forms
- infallibleness
- noninfallible

## Related Forms
- infallibility
- infallibly

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: infallibilis
- Root: in-

## Etymology
From Medieval Latin infallibilis, from Latin in- + fallibilis. Compare French infaillible. By surface analysis, in- + fallible.

## AI Etymology
Infallible is from Medieval Latin infallibilis, from Latin in- + fallibilis. Compare French infaillible. By surface analysis, in- + fallible. The analysis is mainly morphological: the modern form is built from the named base and affix. Important recorded forms include infallibilis (la-med) and in- (Latin). Current senses include never wrong; incapable of making a mistake and certain to work or produce the intended result. The wider family includes derived forms such as infallibleness and noninfallible; related words such as infallibility and infallibly.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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