Words / C1

in-fal-uh-BIL-uh-tee/ɪnˌfæləˈbɪləti/

Infallibility is the inability to be wrong: a claim of infallibility, papal infallibility. Certainty is everyday and milder; a crest on the report does not make the n unassailable.

Meaning

The quality of never being wrong or never failing.

Examples

• “No codebook claims infallibility; log the exception, do not hide it in the foyer copy.”
• “A crest does not confer infallibility on an empty n.”
• “Certainty is milder. Impeccability is a cousin. A crest is branding. A cell is a count. Fill the cell; then claim robustness if the checks still hold.”

Good to know

Inability to be wrong. Milder: certainty. A crest ≠ an unassailable n.

Near in meaning

certainty, impeccability

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