error、fault、blunder、flaw、mistake、shortcoming、defect与slip这些名词均有“错误”或“缺点”之意。
error : 指思想或行动背离正题轨道或没有得到正确指引而出现的偏差或错误。
- He admitted that he'd made an error.
他承认犯了一个错误。 - The letter contains a number of typing errors.
信中有一些打字错误。
Human error has been blamed for the air crash. - 飞机坠毁被归咎于人为失误。
- With something as delicate as brain surgery, there is little margin for error (= you must not make mistakes).
像做脑部外科手术这样精细的事情，容不得半点差错。
fault : 一般指小并且可宽容的缺点、错误。
- It's not my fault she didn't come!
她没来不是我的错！ - She believes it was the doctor's fault that Peter died.
她认为彼得的死是医生的责任。 - The fault was/lay with the organizers, who failed to make the necessary arrangements for dealing with so many people.
责任在组织者，他们没有做好必要的安排来接待这么多人。 - Through no fault of his own, he spent a week locked up in jail.
他自己并没犯什么过错，但在监狱里被关了一个星期。
blunder : 通常指由于粗心或欠考虑而酿成的大错。
- He said that the tax was a major political blunder.
他称这项税收政策是一大政治错误。 - I made a blunder by getting his name wrong.
我一疏忽，弄错了他的名字。
flaw : 指结构或组织上的缺点，如破裂之处。用作比喻意义时，指品格上的缺陷。
- I returned the material because it had a flaw in it.
我退掉了那块布料，因为有瑕疵。 - There's a fatal flaw in your reasoning.
你的推理有一处致命的缺陷。 - This report is full of flaws.
这个报告充满错谬。 - a character flaw
性格上的缺陷
mistake : 最普通用词，泛指思想上、行为上或认识上的判断或理解方面的错误。
- I'm not blaming you - we all make mistakes.
我不是在责备你——我们都会犯错。 - It was a mistake for us to come here tonight.
我们今晚来这儿是个错误。 - This letter's full of spelling mistakes.
这封信满是拼写错误。 - I've discovered a few mistakes in your calculations.
我在你的计算中发现了几个错误。 - Why am I under arrest? There must be some mistake.
为什么逮捕我？一定是搞错了。
shortcoming : 指没有达到所要求的标准、没有充分发展或没尽到职责的不足、缺点或短处。多用复数形式。
- Whatever his shortcomings as a husband, he was a good father to his children.
不管作为一个丈夫他有何缺点，他却是孩子们的好父亲。 - Like any political system, it has its shortcomings.
和任何政治体制一样，它也有不足之处。
defect : 普通用词。指表面上的缺陷，或指人或物本质上的缺点。
- All the company's aircraft have been grounded, after a defect in the engine cooling system was discovered.
自从发现发动机冷却系统有缺陷之后，这家公司所有的飞机都已经停飞了。 - There are so many defects in our education system.
我们的教育体制缺陷太多了。 - It's a character defect in her that she can't ever admit she's wrong.
她在性格上有缺陷，从来都不承认自己有错误。
slip : 指因疏忽或无意而造成的差错。
- She's made one or two slips - mainly spelling errors - but it's basically well written.
她犯了一两个小错误——主要是拼写错误——不过基本上写得很不错。
