Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
unerring ability

unerring ability

7.3
Skill at doing something without making mistakes
  • noun
translation icon : habilidad infalible
  • She demonstrated an unerring ability to solve problems quickly, impressing everyone in the meeting.

Examples

  • His unerring ability to analyze complex data has made him a valuable asset to the team.

  • With an unerring ability to find Casey's weak spot, she knew just how to diminish his girlfriend in his eyes.

    Fiction book (1998)

  • Because Shulie had an unerring ability to cut right to the chase, she was always a stimulating sparring partner.

    Blog text (27)

  • The artist has an unerring ability to capture emotions in her paintings.

Synonyms

unerring instinct
vsunerring ability
1 7.1

A natural ability to know what to do or say without making mistakes

focuses on performing tasks rather than on knowing or judging

Antonyms

unreliable
71 4.1

Not able to be trusted to work or be right

fallible
13 6.8

Able to make mistakes or be wrong

How Reliable

unerring ability
7.3
reliability
60 3.5

Surface Forms

unerring ability singular
unerring abilities plural

Morphology

unerring + ability

The meaning is directly compositional: 'unerring' (making no errors or being consistently correct) simply modifies 'ability' (capacity or capability), yielding 'a capability without mistakes'. This follows a standard adjective + noun pattern and would be readily inferable to a learner who knows both constituent words.

Etymology

Unerring ability comes from the image of an archer or shooter who never misses the target. Here unerring literally means 'not missing' and ability means skill, so the phrase describes a skill that does not 'make mistakes'.