noun
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the condition or quality of being imperfect
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a fault or defect
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of imperfection
1350–1400; Middle English imperfeccio ( u ) n < Late Latin imperfectiōn- (stem of imperfectiō ) incompleteness. See im- 2, perfection
Explanation
An imperfection is a detail that makes something (or someone) less than perfect. A tiny crack in your otherwise flawless Ming vase might be its only imperfection. In addition to a blemish or defect, imperfection can also mean "the general state of not being perfect." For example, you could say, "Yeah, my dog is funny-looking, but her imperfection is part of what I love about her." The Latin imperfectus is at the root of imperfection, meaning "unfinished, incomplete, or immature," a combination of im-, "not," and perfectus, "finished or complete."
Vocabulary lists containing imperfection
This Week in Words: Current Events Vocabulary for May 20–May 26, 2023
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"The Birthmark" by Nathaniel Hawthorne
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"To Helen Keller" and "Marked/Dusting"
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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.
See Examples For:
That demand for endearing imperfection is also helping to sustain one of the country's oldest papermaking traditions.
From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2026
But he seemed unwilling to transform that imperfection into a constitutional defect in which counsel, in his view, still had “every opportunity” to make the point and did not.
From Slate ● Apr. 10, 2026
Aesthetically, the nostalgia obsession will continue, with indicators of tactility, texture and imperfection becoming increasingly significant.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 23, 2025
The net’s original designers dealt with that imperfection by providing for the network to steer data away from blockages or other problems.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 23, 2025
Having felt in him the presence of these qualities, I felt his imperfection and took courage.
From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë
Or it could be worry that comes from helping the children understand a plan designed to protect them from their weaknesses requires a discussion of those imperfections.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 29, 2026
“Knowing you’ve only got a limited amount of time, there’s something beautiful about the imperfections of performances,” he says.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026
"We were thrilled to discover that quantum synchronization persists even in the presence of substantial imperfections and noise," says Lai.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 12, 2026
The chips with slight imperfections still function well.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 18, 2026
In the midst of Kepler’s mathematical raptures, and despite his sequestered life, the imperfections of the outside world must also have molded his character.
From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan
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.
