Log in or Sign up
  1. infallible love

Definitions

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

  1. adj. Incapable of erring: an infallible guide; an infallible source of information.
  2. adj. Incapable of failing; certain: an infallible antidote; an infallible rule.
  3. adj. Roman Catholic Church Incapable of error in expounding doctrine on faith or morals.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

  1. Not fallible in knowledge, judgment, or opinion; exempt from fallacy or liability to error; unerring.
  2. Unfailing in character or effect; exempt from uncertainty or liability to failure; absolutely trustworthy.

Wiktionary

  1. adj. Without fault or weakness; incapable of error or fallacy.
  2. adj. certain, sure.

GNU Webster's 1913

  1. adj. Not fallible; not capable of erring; entirely exempt from liability to mistake; unerring; inerrable.
  2. adj. Not liable to fail, deceive, or disappoint; indubitable; sure; certain.
  3. adj. (R. C. Ch.) Incapable of error in defining doctrines touching faith or morals. See Papal infallibility, under Infallibility.

WordNet 3.0

  1. adj. incapable of failure or error

Etymologies

  1. From Medieval Latin infallibilis, from Latin in- + fallibilis. Compare French infaillible. (Wiktionary)
  2. Middle English, from Medieval Latin īnfallibilis : Latin in-, not; see in-1 + Medieval Latin fallibilis, fallible; see fallible. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)

Examples

Show 10 more examples...

Log in or sign up to add your own related words.

synonyms (5)

Words with the same meaning

  1. unerring
  1. inerrable
  1. indubitable
  1. sure
  1. certain

equivalents (5)

Other words for ‘infallible’

  1. inerrant
  1. inerrable
  1. unerring
  1. unfailing
  1. foolproof

same context (16)

Words that are found in similar contexts

  1. unerring
  2. unfailing
  3. valid
  1. authoritative
  2. divine
  3. intuitive
  1. reliable
  2. invariable
  3. conclusive
  1. miraculous
  2. trustworthy
  3. irresistible
  1. scientific
  2. immutable
  3. prophetic
  1. holy

rhymes (1)

Words with the same terminal sound

  1. fallible

reverse dictionary (21)

Words that contain this word in their definition

  1. infallible
  2. inerrable
  3. infallibility
  4. infallibleness
  1. infallibly
  2. unerrable
  3. unerring
  4. unfailable
  1. unfallible
  2. sans-appel
  3. inerrant
  4. unfailing
  1. certain
  2. illabile
  3. silver bullet
  4. foolproof
  1. sure
  2. oracle
  3. mountebank
  4. absolute
  1. disciple

tags (1)

Free-form, user-generated categorization

  1. vccvccvccv

Log in or sign up to add your own tag.

Wordmap

(beta)

Word visualization

Lists

These user-created lists contain the word ‘infallible’.

More lists containing ‘infallible’

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.

  • dontcry I saw the pope in the woods the other day (I was frolicing on my way to damnation) and I'm like, "Dude, where're your little red shoes?" And the pope just muttered, "Damn bear..." May 6, 2008

  • chained_bear This is correct. And the year was 1854, I believe. (I always thought it was 1864, but Wikipedia says I'm wrong. Hmph.) It is shocking to me--well, maybe not actually shocking; more like surprising--how many Catholics don't know about the ex cathedra thing, or when was the last time the pope sat in it while loudly declaiming something. Non-Catholics I would expect not to know about it because, you know, it's easier just to say the lovely word infallible and be done with it. (It does give good mouthfeel.)

    Dude, the pontiff abolished limbo? I missed that memo. May 6, 2008

  • sionnach Indeed. Not that I've been keeping serious track, But I think the last time that happened was over a century ago, when the pontiff at the time weighed in on the important doctrinal issue of the Immaculate Conception.

    A question which many non-catholics (and more than a few catholics) regularly confuse with the virgin birth of Christ.

    So, let's be clear, wordies. The doctrine of the Immaculate Conception states that Mary, mother of Jesus, was born free of original sin, that unsightly blemish which besmirches the soul of us lesser mortals at birth. It has nothing whatsoever to do with her state of virginity or otherwise at the conception of Jesus. The 'conception' in 'Immaculate Conception' refers to that of Mary, not Jesus.

    As the pope was sitting in his infallible chair when he explained this, Catholics are expected to believe it. And to go to mass on December 8th to celebrate it.

    Non-Catholics (see heathen or pagan) may believe whatever they like as they frolic on the road to their damnation.

    In other news, Pope Rat-zinger recently abolished limbo, but reopened hell. But I don't think he was sitting in the infallibility chair at the time. May 6, 2008

  • chained_bear only when he speaks ex cathedra, actually. May 6, 2008

  • whichbe Did you know that The Pope was infallible? May 6, 2008

Tweets

Looking for tweets for infallible.

‘infallible’ has been looked up 2681 times, loved by 9 people, added to 44 lists, commented on 5 times, and has a Scrabble score of 15.