immaculate
Americanadjective
-
free from spot or stain; spotlessly clean.
immaculate linen.
-
free from moral blemish or impurity; pure; undefiled.
- Synonyms:
- unexceptionable, unimpeachable, blameless, irreproachable
-
free from fault or flaw; free from errors.
an immaculate text.
-
Biology. having no spots or colored marks; unicolor.
adjective
-
completely clean; extremely tidy
his clothes were immaculate
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completely flawless, etc
an immaculate rendering of the symphony
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morally pure; free from sin or corruption
-
biology of only one colour, with no spots or markings
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of immaculate
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Latin immaculātus “unspotted”; equivalent to im- 2 + maculate
Explanation
Immaculate means spotless, pure, and clean as fresh snow on a far-off mountain. Only obsessive cleaners can keep immaculate homes, but it’s a goal we can strive for, like that far-off mountain. Immaculate literally means without a spot or a stain. We can use immaculate to describe physical things, like bathrooms or kitchens. But we also use the word metaphorically to describe honor or purity — in the Catholic church, being immaculate means being "free from sin," like the Virgin Mary. Or someone with a pure, exact singing voice could be described as having immaculate pitch. If your home team plays a perfect game, you could say their performance was immaculate.
Vocabulary lists containing immaculate
Grade 9, List 4
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"The Book Thief" by Markus Zusak, Part Four
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All American Boys
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Immaculate Heart, 5:30 p.m. at Glendale College Chino at Arlington, 3 p.m.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 17, 2026
Audio recordings from the Solong's bridge control room were played to jurors, accompanied by a visual reconstruction of the ship's trajectory towards the Stena Immaculate.
From Barron's • Feb. 2, 2026
The Stena Immaculate, with a crew of 23, was transporting more than 220,000 barrels of aviation fuel from Greece to the UK.
From BBC • Feb. 2, 2026
Little said that the defendant did not alert his own crew or the Stena Immaculate before the collision.
From BBC • Jan. 13, 2026
He had often told Jaja and me that he did not spend so much money on Daughters of the Immaculate Heart and St. Nicholas to have us let other children come first.
From "Purple Hibiscus" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
