Word of the Day: fallibility

The word fallibility has appeared in 16 articles on NYTimes.com in the past year, including on Sept. 9 in “These Jennifer Aniston Fans Weren’t Born When ‘Friends’ Aired” by Ruth La Ferla:

Ana Menendez, 15, a visitor from Mexico City, admires Rachel’s grit. “When the show had its premiere, she was a little spoiled,” Ms. Menendez said. “But with the help of her friends she learned how to become a better person.”

Among her young followers, Ms. Aniston’s apparent fallibility may well be a trump card, said Jonathan Gray, a professor of media and cultural studies at the University of Wisconsin.

“We can’t just see women succeeding all the time,” Dr. Gray said. “A good feminist image needs to show us women struggling and sometimes making bad decisions. Jennifer Aniston often occupies that role. People connect. It’s ‘Yeah, she doesn’t know what she’s doing and neither do I.’”

Daily Word Challenge

Can you correctly use the word fallibility in a sentence?

Based on the definition and example provided, write a sentence using today’s Word of the Day and share it as a comment on this article. It is most important that your sentence makes sense and demonstrates that you understand the word’s definition, but we also encourage you to be creative and have fun.

Then, read some of the other sentences students have submitted and use the “Recommend” button to vote for two original sentences that stand out to you.

If you want a better idea of how fallibility can be used in a sentence, read these usage examples on Vocabulary.com.

If you enjoy this daily challenge, try one of our monthly vocabulary challenges.

Students ages 13 and older in the United States and the United Kingdom, and 16 and older elsewhere, can comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff.