Failable

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Susceptible to failure when faced with specific challenges
2. Potentially unable to achieve success due to inherent flaws
3. Capable of making mistakes or not succeeding due to inherent weaknesses

Etymology: "Failable" is a plain formation: the verb "fail" with the suffix "-able," which turns a verb into an adjective meaning "capable of being" or "susceptible to" the action named. So a failable system is one that can fail. The verb itself came into English from Old French "faillir," which in turn comes from Latin "fallere," meaning "to deceive" or "to disappoint," a sense that still lingers when we say something has failed us. The suffix does the real work here. "-able" was borrowed into English through French from Latin "-abilis," and English has long attached it to native verbs as well as Latin ones, which is why "failable" sits comfortably beside words like "breakable" and "readable." Its meaning is the same as in those words: it describes a thing that is open to the action, not one that has already undergone it.

Synonyms: fallible, liable, vulnerable, imperfect

Antonyms: infallible, perfect