noun
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the condition or quality of being imperfect
-
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
It’s always the imperfection of everything you’ve ever written, that’s what keeps you writing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 25, 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
Once he’d finished recording, Jesso asked his friend Shawn Everett to mix “Shine”; what he got back — with every imperfection of his voice under a virtual magnifying glass — terrified him.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 22, 2025
To remind themselves, and to show their humility, they would purposefully include one missed knot in every rug, one imperfection.
From "Everything Sad Is Untrue" by Daniel Nayeri
The film frames their lapses in rigor as the joys of being a teenager, rather than imperfections — or worse, weakness in the pursuit of glory.
From Salon ● Aug. 18, 2026
In an age of AI-generated images and machine-manufactured products, it may be those imperfections that keep some of Britain's oldest skills alive.
From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2026
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
“It’s a life lesson right, maybe we all should embrace our imperfections a bit more.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
There was something about people who were that secure; they made you feel better about yourself, like they accepted you for everything you were, imperfections and all.
From "When Dimple Met Rishi" by Sandhya Menon
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.
