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WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2024fault•less (fôlt′lis),USA pronunciation adj. - without fault, flaw, or defect;
perfect.
- Middle English fautles. See fault, -less 1300–50
fault′less•ly, adv. fault′less•ness, n. flawless, impeccable, exemplary, irreproachable. Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers:: faultless /ˈfɔːltlɪs/ adj - without fault; perfect or blameless
ˈfaultlessly adv ˈfaultlessness n WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2024fault /fɔlt/USA pronunciation n. [countable]- a defect or imperfection;
flaw; failing:His only fault is that he lacks ambition. - responsibility for failure or a wrongful act:[usually: singular]Whose fault was it?
- an error or mistake;
misdeed:a fault in addition. - Geology, Mininga break or crack in the continuity of a body of rock, or of the earth's surface:huge faults in southern California.
v. [~ + object)] - to accuse of error, misdeed, wrong, etc.;
criticize; blame:The boss can't fault you on inaccuracy. Idioms- Idioms at fault, in the wrong;
deserving blame:She was at fault for lying. - Idioms find fault, [ find + ~ (+ with + obj)] to complain or be critical:always found fault with him no matter what he did.
- Idioms to a fault, to an extreme degree;
greatly; excessively:She was generous to a fault. fault•less, adj. fault•less•ly, adv. WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2024fault (fôlt),USA pronunciation n. - a defect or imperfection;
flaw; failing:a fault in the brakes; a fault in one's character. - responsibility for failure or a wrongful act:It is my fault that we have not finished.
- an error or mistake:a fault in addition.
- a misdeed or transgression:to confess one's faults.
- Sport(in tennis, handball, etc.)
- a ball that when served does not land in the proper section of an opponent's court.
- a failure to serve the ball according to the rules, as from within a certain area.
- Geology, Mininga break in the continuity of a body of rock or of a vein, with dislocation along the plane of the fracture (fault plane.)
- Sport[Manège.](of a horse jumping in a show) any of a number of improper executions in negotiating a jump, as a tick, knockdown, refusal, or run-out.
- Electricitya partial or total local failure in the insulation or continuity of a conductor or in the functioning of an electric system.
- Sport[Hunting.]a break in the line of scent;
a losing of the scent; check. - [Obs.]lack;
want. - Idioms at fault:
- open to censure;
blameworthy:to be at fault for a mistake. - in a dilemma;
puzzled:to be at fault as to where to go. - (of hounds) unable to find the scent.
- Idioms find fault, to seek and make known defects or flaws;
complain; criticize:He constantly found fault with my behavior. - Idioms to a fault, to an extreme degree;
excessively:She was generous to a fault. v.i. - to commit a fault;
blunder; err. - Geologyto undergo faulting.
v.t. - Geologyto cause a fault in.
- to find fault with, blame, or censure.
- Vulgar Latin *fallita, noun, nominal use of feminine of *fallitus, for Latin falsus, past participle of fallere to be wrong
- Anglo-French, Middle French
- Middle English faute 1250–1300
- 1.See corresponding entry in Unabridged blemish; frailty, shortcoming. Fault, failing, foible, weakness, vice imply shortcomings or imperfections in a person. Fault is the common word used to refer to any of the average shortcomings of a person; when it is used, condemnation is not necessarily implied:Of his many faults the greatest is vanity.Foible, failing, weakness all tend to excuse the person referred to. Of these foible is the mildest, suggesting a weak point that is slight and often amusing, manifesting itself in eccentricity rather than in wrongdoing:the foibles of artists.Weakness suggests that the person in question is unable to control a particular impulse, and gives way to self-indulgence:a weakness for pretty women.Failing is closely akin to fault, except that it is particularly applied to humanity at large, suggesting common, often venial, shortcomings:Procrastination and making excuses are common failings.Vice (which may also apply to a sin in itself, apart from a person:the vice of gambling) is the strongest term, and designates a habit that is truly detrimental or evil.
- 1.See corresponding entry in Unabridged virtue, strength, merit.
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