fault
noun
Fault — a wrong action that carries the weight of personal responsibility
Definition
A wrong action attributable to bad judgment or ignorance or inattention; "he made a bad mistake"; "she was quick to point out my errors"; "I could understand his English in spite of his grammatical faults"
In depth
A fault is a wrong action attributable to bad judgment, ignorance, or inattention, the word carrying a stronger implication of personal responsibility and blame than the gentler 'mistake.' To call something a fault is to assign clear ownership of the error, often within legal, relational, or moral contexts where determining responsibility carries real consequence.
Origin
The word descends from Old French faute, a lack or failing, ultimately from Latin fallere, to deceive. That shared root with 'failure' and 'false' lends the word a subtle moral undertone, a fault carrying within it a faint echo of deception or falseness, distinct from the more neutral, simply factual 'error.'
Usage examples
"It was entirely her fault, she admitted, with no attempt to shift blame elsewhere."
"The accident report carefully apportioned fault between both drivers based on the available evidence."
"He had spent years cataloguing his own faults with a thoroughness he rarely extended to forgiving them."
How to use it
Fault carries more weight of personal responsibility and blame than 'mistake' or 'error,' making it the natural choice in legal, relational, and moral writing where the specific assignment of responsibility matters significantly to the discussion.
Related concepts
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