imperfect

American  

[im-pur-fikt] / ɪmˈpɜr fɪkt /

adjective

1. relating to or characterized by defects or weaknesses.

   With my imperfect vision I couldn’t make out the street name.

   Synonyms:

   faulty, defective

2. not perfect; lacking completeness.

   Human knowledge on all subjects is imperfect.

   Synonyms:

   immature, underdeveloped, incomplete

   Antonyms:

   complete

3. Grammar. designating a verb aspect, tense, or other verb category used to express an action or state still in process at some point of reference in time, especially in the past.

4. Law. being without legal effect or support; unenforceable.

5. Botany. (of a flower) diclinous.

6. Music. of or relating to the interval of a major or minor third or sixth.

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noun

Grammar.

1. 1. in some languages, a verb aspect, tense, or other verb category used to express an action or state still in process at some point of reference in time, especially in the past.

   2. an instance or form of a specific verb in such an aspect, tense, or construction, such as Latin portābam “I was carrying.”

imperfect British  

/ ɪmˈpɜːfɪkt /

adjective

1. exhibiting or characterized by faults, mistakes, etc; defective

2. not complete or finished; deficient

3. botany

   1. (of flowers) lacking functional stamens or pistils

   2. (of fungi) not undergoing sexual reproduction

4. 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

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

6. music

   1. (of a cadence) proceeding to the dominant from the tonic, subdominant, or any chord other than the dominant

   2. of or relating to all intervals other than the fourth, fifth, and octave Compare perfect

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noun

1. grammar

   1. the imperfect tense

   2. a verb in this tense

Other Word Forms

• imperfectly adverb
• imperfectness noun

Etymology

Origin of imperfect

First recorded in 1300–50; from Latin imperfectus “unfinished”; equivalent to im- ² + perfect; replacing Middle English imparfit, from Middle French imparfait, from Latin, as above

Example Sentences

U.S. military officers have to make snap real-time judgments with imperfect information.

From The Wall Street Journal

The outcome is imperfect: a peace of separation rather than of reconciliation, in Mr. Luttwak’s terms.

From The Wall Street Journal

In a professional kitchen, nothing goes to waste, and everything has a purpose — even the imperfect carrot or the overlooked cut of meat.

From Salon

I started in the produce aisle, as I often do, scanning the marked-down netted bags — imperfect, but still sturdy and fragrant.

From Salon

At its best, “The Innocents of Florence” is an example of a complicated humanism: An empathetic study of the perpetual interplay between good intentions, human frailties and imperfect outcomes.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• immature
• incomplete
• inexact
• rudimentary
• sketchy
• warped