perfectionism

American  

[per-fek-shuh-niz-uhm] / pərˈfɛk ʃəˌnɪz əm /

noun

1. any of various doctrines holding that religious, moral, social, or political perfection is attainable.

2. a personal standard, attitude, or philosophy that demands perfection and rejects anything less.

---

perfectionism British  

/ pəˈfɛkʃəˌnɪzəm /

noun

1. philosophy the doctrine that man can attain perfection in this life

2. the demand for the highest standard of excellence

---

Etymology

Origin of perfectionism

An Americanism dating back to 1830–40; perfection + -ism

Example Sentences

Instead, Kutcher says the real driver in perfectionism is the "everyone being on camera all the time".

From BBC

“There’s a perfectionism to her that you don’t see because it’s so invisible and seamless by the time she’s performing. You can feel the precision and it’s impressive because it doesn’t ever seem hard.”

From Los Angeles Times

“I work with a lot of high-power, girl-boss types, eldest daughters who are running themselves into the ground, struggling with perfectionism. So my focus is on helping folks recover from perfectionism,” she said.

From Los Angeles Times

And as more parents push for perfectionism — to protect their kids from every conceivable threat in a world increasingly filled with them — they can inadvertently cause lasting harm to a child’s mental health.

From MarketWatch

The singer said she suspects she’ll be battling that toxic perfectionism for the rest of her life, but she’s gotten better at banishing it to the backseat.

From Los Angeles Times