noun
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the condition or quality of being imperfect
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a fault or defect
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.
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
At such a moment, it’s good to reflect on the power of human creativity and the beauty of imperfection, and how the music we connect to helps bind us together.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 25, 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
Ethan is the picture of imperfection, and in his flaws, we see ourselves.
From Salon • May 24, 2025
Any such attempt to define stages of any evolutionary or developmental continuum—whether of musical styles, human life stages, or human societies—is doubly doomed to imperfection.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
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.
