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perfect
[ adjective noun pur-fikt; verb per-fekt ]
adjective
- 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!
- excellent or complete beyond practical or theoretical improvement:
There is no perfect legal code.
The proportions of this temple are almost perfect.
- 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.
- 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
- accurate, exact, or correct in every detail:
I’ll email you a perfect copy when revisions are complete.
- 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.
She will need a perfect driving teacher.
- pure or unmixed:
perfect yellow.
- Botany.
- having all parts or members present.
- 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.
- Music.
- of or designating the consonances of unison, octave, and fifth, as distinguished from those of the third and sixth. Compare imperfect ( def 6 ).
- of or designating the intervals, harmonic or melodic, of an octave, fifth, and fourth in their normal form, as opposed to augmented and diminished.
- Mathematics. (of a set) equal to its set of accumulation points.
- Obsolete. assured or certain.
noun
- 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.
- 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)
- to bring to perfection; make flawless or faultless:
He has succeeded in perfecting his recipe for chicken Kiev.
- to bring nearer to perfection; improve; make better:
She works hard to perfect her writing.
- to make fully skilled.
- to bring to completion; finish:
Nietzsche believed that the emergence of the Superman would perfect the evolution of the human race.
- Printing. to print the reverse of (a printed sheet).
perfect
adjective
- having all essential elements
- unblemished; faultless
a perfect gemstone
- correct or precise
perfect timing
- utter or absolute
a perfect stranger
- excellent in all respects
a perfect day
- maths exactly divisible into equal integral or polynomial roots
36 is a perfect square
- botany
- (of flowers) having functional stamens and pistils
- (of plants) having all parts present
- 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
- music
- of or relating to the intervals of the unison, fourth, fifth, and octave
- Alsofullfinal (of a cadence) ending on the tonic chord, giving a feeling of conclusion Compare imperfect
- archaic.positive certain, or assured
noun
- grammar
- the perfect tense
- a verb in this tense
verb
- to make perfect; improve to one's satisfaction
he is in Paris to perfect his French
- to make fully accomplished
- printing to print the reverse side of (a printed sheet of paper)
Usage Note
Usage
Derived Forms
- ˈperfectness, noun
Other Words From
- per·fect·ed·ly adverb
- per·fect·er noun
- per·fect·ness noun
- non·per·fect·ed adjective
- qua·si-per·fect adjective
- qua·si-per·fect·ly adverb
- self-per·fect·ing adjective
- su·per·per·fect adjective
- su·per·per·fect·ly adverb
- un·per·fect adjective
- un·per·fect·ed adjective
Word History and Origins
Word History and Origins
Origin of perfect1
Example Sentences
However, many other hospitals in other parts of Virginia, including the 11 Sentara hospital group hospitals, received perfect 100 percent scores, the report shows.
Seven years after its founding, Snowflake had perfected an amazing new way to run databases on cloud servers, but it was struggling to attract enough big corporate customers.
So, having that public accountability, about what they think — and no one’s gonna be perfect on it — helps a lot.
Oddly enough, it’s a perfect time to offer this, and I think it answers a demand, which is beauty brands by women of color.
Big Pharma is far from perfect—for example, there may be outlier companies that have charged rapacious prices on drugs.
Estee Lauder has not crumbled to dust because the perfect brown face of Joan Smalls represents it.
The Perfect Storm writer talks combat brotherhood and the threat posed by growing wealth inequality.
So perfect that we wonder if we should risk ruining it by asking for yet another take.
The Oscar-winning actress put nude photo thieves in their place with one perfect statement.
In our headlong quest for a legally perfect society, we don’t take the time to take stock of what‘s been created so far.
The afternoon was a lovely one—the day was a perfect example of the mellowest mood of autumn.
In the most perfect stillness, we arrived within two hundred paces of the enemy's camp.
But if the Bible was written by men, some of them more or less inspired, then it would not, in all probability be wholly perfect.
Even genius, however, needs direction and adjustment to secure the most perfect and reliable results.
We stood staring after the fugitives in perfect bewilderment, totally unable to explain their apparently causeless panic.
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When To Use
What are other ways to say perfect?
Something that is perfect conforms to an ideal or is entirely without flaws, defects, or shortcomings. How does perfect compare to synonyms entire, intact, and complete? Find out on Thesaurus.com.
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