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erring

erring

1 7.5
Having made a mistake or done something wrong
  • adjective
  • /ˈɪrɪŋ/
translation icon : errante
  • He realized he was erring by not studying for the exam, which hurt his chances of passing.

Examples

  • I would also argue that many persons are erring in their assessment of today's immigrants because of what I am tempted to describe as an "over-immersion" flaw:

    Academic text (1999)
  • Is that really erring on the side of safety?

    Blog text (20)
  • If the erring person refuses to confess his sin and repent (turn from evil), he must be removed from the Church (Matthew 18).

    Blog text (12)
  • In her wisdom, cultivated by patience and longsuffering faith, she consigned me to my second mother, who was, after all, able to convert my erring ways.

    Blog text (4)
  • The erring scientist corrected his previous theories after reviewing new data.

  • When giving instructions, she was erring on the side of caution to avoid any misunderstandings.

Synonyms

unreliable
vserring
71 4.1

Not able to be trusted to work or be right

is about tendency to make mistakes rather than lack of trustworthiness
fallible
vserring
13 6.8

Able to make mistakes or be wrong

is about having a regular tendency to make mistakes rather than just possibility
errant
vserring
6 7.8

Moving away from the expected path, like a ball or breeze

is about making mistakes rather than physical wandering or motion
error-prone
vserring
2 5.1

Tends to make many mistakes

is more about a general possibility of being mistaken or straying
fumbling
vserring
4.9

Doing things in an awkward, clumsy way

is about being prone to making mistakes broadly not only clumsy task performance

Antonyms

680 3.0

Exactly correct in every detail

28 7.2

Not able to make mistakes

How Error-Prone

error-prone
2 5.1
erring
1 7.5
fallible
13 6.8
reliable
358 2.7
infallible
28 7.2

Surface Forms

erring positive

Morphology

erring = err (transparent) = err + ing

The adjective 'erring' is transparently formed from the verb 'err' with the addition of the suffix '-ing' to denote a state or quality.

Etymology

The word erring comes from the Latin errare, which means 'to wander' or 'to go wrong'. It shares the same root as the common word error, so to be erring is like 'wandering' away from the right way and therefore making a mistake.