error

noun Etymology: Middle English errour, from Anglo-French, from Latin error, from errare Date: 13th century 1. a. an act or condition of ignorant or imprudent deviation from a code of behavior b. an act involving an unintentional deviation from truth or accuracy <

made an error in adding up the bill

> c. an act that through ignorance, deficiency, or accident departs from or fails to achieve what should be done <

an error in judgment

>: as (1) a defensive misplay other than a wild pitch or passed ball made by a baseball player when normal play would have resulted in an out or prevented an advance by a base runner (2) the failure of a player (as in tennis) to make a successful return of a ball during play d. a mistake in the proceedings of a court of record in matters of law or of fact 2. a. the quality or state of erring <

the map is in error

> b. Christian Science illusion about the nature of reality that is the cause of human suffering ; the contradiction of truth c. an instance of false belief 3. something produced by mistake <

a typographical error

>; especially a postage stamp exhibiting a consistent flaw (as a wrong color) in its manufacture 4. a. the difference between an observed or calculated value and a true value; specifically variation in measurements, calculations, or observations of a quantity due to mistakes or to uncontrollable factors b. the amount of deviation from a standard or specification 5. a deficiency or imperfection in structure or function <

an error of metabolism

> • errorless adjective Synonyms: error, mistake, blunder, slip, lapse mean a departure from what is true, right, or proper. error suggests the existence of a standard or guide and a straying from the right course through failure to make effective use of this <

procedural errors

>. mistake implies misconception or inadvertence and usually expresses less criticism than error <

dialed the wrong number by mistake

>. blunder regularly imputes stupidity or ignorance as a cause and connotes some degree of blame <

diplomatic blunders

>. slip stresses inadvertence or accident and applies especially to trivial but embarrassing mistakes <

a slip of the tongue

>. lapse stresses forgetfulness, weakness, or inattention as a cause <

a lapse in judgment

>.