perfect

American  

[pur-fikt, per-fekt] / ˈpɜr fɪkt, pərˈfɛkt /

adjective

1. matching in every detail the definition of an ideal type of something.

   Even a ball bearing is not a perfect sphere.

   Your son is a perfect gentleman!

2. excellent or complete beyond practical or theoretical improvement.

   There is no perfect legal code.

   The proportions of this temple are almost perfect.

3. exactly fitting the need in a certain situation or for a certain purpose.

   He is the perfect actor to play Mr. Micawber.

   I have the perfect saw for cutting out keyholes.

4. entirely without any flaws, defects, or shortcomings.

   She chose a perfect apple from the bowl.

   It was very nearly the perfect crime—next to impossible for detectives to solve.

   Synonyms:

   picture-perfect, faultless, flawless

5. accurate, exact, or correct in every detail.

   I’ll email you a perfect copy when revisions are complete.

6. thorough or complete; absolute; utter.

   A week ago we were perfect strangers, and already we’ve become friends.

   He made a perfect fool of himself.

7. expert; accomplished; proficient.

   She will need a perfect driving teacher.

8. pure or unmixed.

   perfect yellow.

9. Botany.

   1. having all parts or members present.

   2. monoclinous.

10. Grammar. designating a verb aspect or other verb category used for an action or state that is or will be complete as of some point of reference in time, and that is thought of with regard to its relevance or effect for that time.

11. Music.

    1. of or designating the consonances of unison, octave, and fifth, as distinguished from those of the third and sixth.

    2. of or designating the intervals, harmonic or melodic, of an octave, fifth, and fourth in their normal form, as opposed to augmented and diminished.

12. Mathematics. (of a set) equal to its set of accumulation points.

13. Obsolete. assured or certain.

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noun

Grammar.

1. 1. a verb aspect or other verb category used for an action or state that is or will be complete as of some point of reference in time, and that is thought of with regard to its relevance or effect for that time.

   2. an instance or form of a verb in this aspect, as in I have washed the dishes, so can I go now? or By the time I arrived they had finished breakfast.

verb (used with object)

perfects, present (3rd person singular) perfected, past participle, past perfecting present participle

1. to bring to perfection; make flawless or faultless.

   He has succeeded in perfecting his recipe for chicken Kiev.

2. to bring nearer to perfection; improve; make better.

   She works hard to perfect her writing.

3. to make fully skilled.

4. to bring to completion; finish.

   Nietzsche believed that the emergence of the Superman would perfect the evolution of the human race.

5. Printing. to print the reverse of (a printed sheet).

perfect British  

adjective

1. having all essential elements

2. unblemished; faultless

   a perfect gemstone

3. correct or precise

   perfect timing

4. utter or absolute

   a perfect stranger

5. excellent in all respects

   a perfect day

6. maths exactly divisible into equal integral or polynomial roots

   36 is a perfect square

7. botany

   1. (of flowers) having functional stamens and pistils

   2. (of plants) having all parts present

8. grammar denoting a tense of verbs used in describing an action that has been completed by the subject. In English this is a compound tense, formed with have or has plus the past participle

9. music

   1. of or relating to the intervals of the unison, fourth, fifth, and octave

   2. Also: full.   final.  (of a cadence) ending on the tonic chord, giving a feeling of conclusion Compare imperfect

10. archaic positive certain, or assured

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noun

1. grammar

   1. the perfect tense

   2. a verb in this tense

verb

1. to make perfect; improve to one's satisfaction

   he is in Paris to perfect his French

2. to make fully accomplished

3. printing to print the reverse side of (a printed sheet of paper)

Usage

A few usage guides still object to the use of comparison words such as more, most, nearly, almost, and rather with perfect on the grounds that perfect describes an absolute, yes-or-no condition that cannot logically be said to exist in varying degrees. The English language has never agreed to this limitation. Since its earliest use in the 13th century, perfect has, like almost all adjectives, been compared, first in the now obsolete forms perfecter and perfectest, and more recently with more, most, and similar comparison words: the most perfect arrangement of color and line imaginable. Perfect is compared in most of its general senses in all varieties of speech and writing. After all, one of the objectives of the writers of the U. S. Constitution was “to form a more perfect union.” See also complete, unique.

For most of its meanings, the adjective perfect describes an absolute state, i.e. one that cannot be qualified; thus something is either perfect or not perfect, and cannot be more perfect or less perfect. However when perfect means excellent in all respects, a comparative can be used with it without absurdity: the next day the weather was even more perfect

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• perfecter
  noun
• perfectness
  noun
• nonperfected
  adjective
• quasi-perfect
  adjective
• self-perfecting
  adjective
• superperfect
  adjective
• unperfect
  adjective
• unperfected
  adjective
• perfectedly
  adverb
• quasi-perfectly
  adverb
• superperfectly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Participles

• perfecting
  present
• perfected
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• perfect
  simple
• perfects
  simple
• have perfected
  perfect
• has perfected
  perfect
• am perfecting
  progressive
• are perfecting
  progressive
• is perfecting
  progressive
• have been perfecting
  perfect progressive
• has been perfecting
  perfect progressive

Past

• perfected
  simple
• had perfected
  perfect
• was perfecting
  progressive
• were perfecting
  progressive
• had been perfecting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will perfect
  simple
• will have perfected
  perfect
• will be perfecting
  progressive
• will have been perfecting
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of perfect

First recorded in 1250–1300; from Latin perfectus “finished,” past participle of perficere “to finish, bring to completion,” from per- per- + -fecere, combining form of facere “to do, make” ( see also do ¹); replacing Middle English parfit, from Old French, from Latin, as above

Explanation

Something that is perfect is complete and without defect or blemish. It might also be precisely accurate or exact. The word perfect can also be used as a verb meaning — you guessed it! — to make something perfect. (Note, though, the pronunciation difference: PER-fect as a noun; per-FECT as a verb.) It originally comes from the Latin word perficere, which breaks down into per- ("completely") and facere ("do"). As a noun perfect is a grammatical term referring to a tense of verbs describing an action that has been completed.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

perfect perfects perfected perfecting

Alex Kirshner recaps the tournament and makes the case that its ending was perfect.

From Slate ● Jul. 20, 2026

But while Argentina was being petty and petulant, Spain was practically perfect in every way.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026

But could he really stay away from the game and would international football, without the day-to-day intensity that comes with the club game, be the perfect way back in?

From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026

Long-term investing has never been about predicting the perfect price.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 20, 2026

I know that the experiences of our lives, when we let God use them, become the mysterious and perfect preparation for the work He will give us to do.

From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom

As “Maddie’s Secret” continues, and the titular Maddie falls deeper into the grasp of her titular secret, Early perfects that push and pull.

From Salon ● Jun. 22, 2026

The avatar perfects the theater, showing up with scripted answers.

From MarketWatch ● May 6, 2026

Ever wondered how an actor from Brisbane, Australia, perfects a Northern accent?

From BBC ● Feb. 5, 2026

Just as a chef perfects a dish by experimenting with flavors and textures, the researchers used an iterative process, testing variations to find the ideal structure for the ionizable lipid.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 22, 2024

But whatever perfects a nature does so only because and in so far as it is a realization of the end towards which this nature tends.

From Ontology or the Theory of Being by Coffey, Peter

During the album’s rollout, the pop star’s visage was perfected with the help of some uncanny AI smoothing, while her accompanying “Confessions II” short film featured a team of AI artists in the credits.

From Salon ● Jul. 8, 2026

We have perfected the military-industrial complex in a way that no other nation in history has.

From Salon ● Jul. 4, 2026

During regular testimony in Congress — the main forum for Fed chiefs to discuss their policies — Greenspan perfected a nearly impenetrable mode of communication that came to be known as “Fedspeak,” or “Greenspeak.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 22, 2026

It is debatable whether Leonardo, or some anonymous artisan, perfected the design, but the first wheellocks emerged soon after.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026

The blue day—even the watery reflections in the stained-glass windows seemed curated, cultivated, perfected.

From "Tradition" by Brendan Kiely

Here in the United States, Mikel Arteta's dedication to perfecting Arsenal's routines is an approach England head coach Tuchel is looking to replicate.

From BBC ● Jun. 15, 2026

In purifying and perfecting their homes’ water, he says, homeowners of the future will demineralize and remineralize what comes out of the tap, and then pump it full of oxygen.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026

The company’s ability to operate space-based data centers and ramp up rocket launches depends on perfecting critical technology.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 11, 2026

Multiple employees were perfecting the already-perfect plateaus of bell peppers and apples in the produce section.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 25, 2026

Lawrence, perfecting his style of Big Science, already was involved less in performing experiments than in managing his interdisciplinary staff.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik

Related Words

• accomplish
• carry out
• cultivate
• develop
• hone
• improve
• realize
• refine