definitions
  • synonyms

imperfect

[ im-pur-fikt ]
/ ɪmˈpɜr fɪkt /
||

adjective

noun Grammar.

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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.
ANTONYMS FOR imperfect
2 complete, developed.
Related formsim·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 imperfectness

  • Words have necessarily human limitations and imperfectness, because of their purely human origin.

    The Covenant of Salt|Henry Clay Trumbull

  • With his eye fixed on the Perfect, he makes no allowance for the imperfectness of those who are struggling toward it.

    By the Christmas Fire|Samuel McChord Crothers

  • Thus, by their rule, the imperfectness of capitalism was revealed.

    The Positive Outcome of Philosophy|Joseph Dietzgen

  • Despite the imperfectness of the record, Lever's choice was a singularly happy one.

    Charles Lever, His Life in His Letters, Vol. I (of II)|Edmund Downey

British Dictionary definitions for imperfectness

imperfect

/ (ɪmˈpɜːfɪkt) /

adjective

noun

grammar
  1. the imperfect tense
  2. a verb in this tense
Derived Formsimperfectly, 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

Word Origin and History for imperfectness

imperfect

adj.

mid-14c., imperfite, from Old French imparfait, from Latin imperfectus "unfinished, incomplete," from assimilated form of in- "not, opposite of" (see in- (1)) + perfectus (see perfect). Replaced mid-16c. by the Latin form. Related: Imperfectly.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper