imperfect

[ im-pur-fikt ]

/ ɪmˈpɜr fɪkt /

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adjective

of, relating to, or characterized by defects or weaknesses: imperfect vision.

not perfect; lacking completeness: imperfect knowledge.

Grammar. noting action or state still in process at some temporal point of reference, particularly in the past.

Law. being without legal effect or support; unenforceable.

Botany. (of a flower) diclinous.

Music. of or relating to the interval of a major or minor third or sixth.Compare perfect(def 13a).

noun Grammar.

the imperfect tense.

another verb formation or construction with imperfect meaning.

a form in the imperfect, as Latin portābam, “I was carrying.”

Nearby words

imperceptible, imperception, imperceptive, impercipient, imperf., imperfect, imperfect competition, imperfect contrition, imperfect flower, imperfect fungus, imperfect stage

Origin of imperfect

1300–50; < Latin imperfectus unfinished (see im-², perfect); replacing Middle English imparfit < Middle French imparfait < Latin, as above

SYNONYMS FOR imperfect

1 defective, faulty.

2 incomplete, underdeveloped; immature.

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ANTONYMS FOR imperfect

2 complete, developed.

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Related forms

im·per·fect·ly, adverbim·per·fect·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for imperfect

Even an imperfect messenger is capable of delivering news everyone needs to hear.
Bill Cosby Foe Hannibal Buress Joked About Date Rape|Rich Goldstein|November 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Though the grand jury is an imperfect forum for resolving social issues, it works very well in finding truth.
There’s No Conspiracy in Ferguson’s Secret Jury|Paul Callan|November 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
There was a fear growing inside of me that my imperfect bruised college experience was a reflection of my own damaged self.
Freshman Year Sucks—and That’s OK|Eleanor Hyun|November 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The problem was that, at least in Iowa, this model was imperfect.
Did a Flawed Computer Model Sabotage the Democrats?|Ben Jacobs|November 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Himmler, for example, wanted to drop the imperfect British pounds on the United Kingdom by airplane.
On the Trail of Nazi Counterfeiters|Dr. Kevin C. Ruffner|September 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Meanwhile, low and imperfect sounds, that had in them more of inanimate than human, assailed her ear.
Ormond, Volume III (of 3)|Charles Brockden Brown
I am conscious that while I have taxed your patience, I have given but an imperfect presentation of the subject.
Anti-Slavery Opinions before the Year 1800|William Frederick Poole
A baby is not an imperfect being, an unfinished sketch—he is a man.
Monsieur, Madame and Bebe, Complete|Gustave Droz
He was, I suppose, judging from the imperfect view-point of my sex, what women call "fascinating."
The Collected Works of Ambrose Bierce, Volume 8|Ambrose Bierce
A foreigner with an imperfect knowledge of English naturally prefers a doctor to whom he can speak in his own tongue.
The Doctor of Pimlico|William Le Queux

British Dictionary definitions for imperfect

imperfect

/ (ɪmˈpɜːfɪkt) /

adjective

exhibiting or characterized by faults, mistakes, etc; defective

not complete or finished; deficient

botany

(of flowers) lacking functional stamens or pistils
(of fungi) not undergoing sexual reproduction

grammar denoting a tense of verbs used most commonly in describing continuous or repeated past actions or events, as for example was walking as opposed to walked

law (of a trust, an obligation, etc) lacking some necessary formality to make effective or binding; incomplete; legally unenforceableSee also executory (def. 1)

music

(of a cadence) proceeding to the dominant from the tonic, subdominant, or any chord other than the dominant
of or relating to all intervals other than the fourth, fifth, and octaveCompare perfect (def. 9)

noun

grammar

the imperfect tense
a verb in this tense

Derived Forms

imperfectly, adverbimperfectness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012