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fault

fault

∞ 1.8
A mistake or personal weakness that causes people to blame someone
  • noun
  • /fɔlt/
: culpa
  • No, it was completely my fault.
  • own fault
  • find fault
  • the fault lies with

If you don't, it's your fault, which means what?

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Examples

  • Yes, it was his own damn fault he had neglected his education until so late in life.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • So it may not be your fault, but you have options.

  • I said, none of this is your fault, Do you hear me?

  • And either way, it's still the fault of the other side.

  • It's not their fault, but it is their problem.

  • In a way, this is all my fault.

  • This was all my fault.

  • So, it is your own fault if you cannot find skilled workers, not ours.

    Academic text (1990)
  • No, it wasn't your fault at all, was it?

  • It's not your fault that things went wrong; we all make mistakes.

Synonyms

mistake
vsfault
∞ 1.0

A wrong action or decision

is more about being responsible rather than only an incorrect act
blame
vsfault
359 1.0

Responsibility for a fault or bad situation

is the general notion of being responsible rather than the act itself
error
vsfault
306 1.0

A wrong belief, calculation, or action

is about responsibility or censure rather than simple incorrectness
blunder
vsfault
49 3.0

A careless mistake that causes embarrassment or problems

is the broader idea of responsibility, not the clumsy mistake itself
screw-up
vsfault
  • Informal
33 6.1

A careless mistake that causes problems or embarrassment

is the neutral concept of being responsible rather than the informal mishap
culpability
vsfault
20 8.3

Being responsible for a fault or doing something wrong

is the general idea of being responsible for something wrong
dumb mistake
vsfault
  • Informal
4 2.8

A careless, foolish error that causes problems

is used for responsibility and blame rather than for mere foolishness

Antonyms

259 3.8

A good personal quality like honesty or kindness

Idioms

62 3.4

Responsible for causing a problem or mistake and deserving blame

13 7.1

Very much of a good quality so it becomes a problem

1 7.4

Telling the truth even when it causes problems or hurts people

Very kind in a way that causes problems for the person giving

Compounds

fault line
  • Specialized
16 4.7

A crack in the ground where the land moves, often causing earthquakes

double fault
  • Jargon
1 2.8

Two bad serves in a row that make the player lose the point

A long crack in the ground in California that causes earthquakes

geological fault
  • Specialized
1 5.0

A crack in the Earth's crust where rock layers move

no fault insurance
  • Specialized
1 4.3

A system where each driver's own plan pays for their crash costs no matter who caused it

normal fault
  • Specialized
1 7.0

A sloping break in the Earth's crust where the upper side moves down past the lower side

thrust fault
  • Specialized
1 8.1

A break in rocks where the top part moves up over the lower part

common fault
  • Specialized
7.8

A break in rock where the top part moves down past the lower part

Denali Fault
  • Specialized
7.9

A long crack in the ground in central Alaska that makes earthquakes

gravity fault
  • Specialized
8.7

A sloping break in rock where the upper block moves down because of its weight

inclined fault
  • Specialized
9.0

A break in the ground where one side moves up at an angle

Car insurance where each driver gets money from their own insurance company after a crash, no matter who caused it

reverse fault
  • Specialized
8.3

A break in rock where one side moves up when the land is pushed together

overthrust fault
  • Specialized
9.6

A break in rock where strong sideways force pushes one rock layer up and over another

strike-slip fault
  • Specialized
7.4

A break in the ground where two rock blocks move past each other horizontally

How Blameworthy

culpability
20 8.3
fault
∞ 1.8
error
306 1.0
lapse
81 4.9

Surface Forms

fault singular
faults plural

Etymology

Fault comes from Old French faute, from a Latin verb that meant 'to fail', like the English word fail. So a fault is a kind of failure or mistake, and when someone is 'at fault' we mean they are responsible for that failure.