perfection
Americannoun
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the state or quality of being or becoming perfect.
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the highest degree of proficiency, skill, or excellence, as in some art.
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a perfect embodiment or example of something.
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a quality, trait, or feature of the highest degree of excellence.
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the highest or most nearly perfect degree of a quality or trait.
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the act or fact of perfecting.
noun
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the act of perfecting or the state or quality of being perfect
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the highest degree of a quality, etc
the perfection of faithfulness
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an embodiment of perfection
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of perfection
First recorded in 1175–1225; from Latin perfectiōn-, stem of perfectiō “completion, finishing”; equivalent to perfect + -ion; replacing Middle English perfeccioun, perfectiun, from Anglo-French, from Latin, as above
Explanation
Perfection is a flawless state where everything is exactly right. It can also be the action of making something perfect. Since perfect things are without fault or flaw, perfection is a perfect condition — everything is 100% great. Of course, perfection is hard to find. People often use this word as a compliment for something that just couldn’t be better, as in "That red dress matches your red hair to perfection!” Also, if a musician is getting a song down pat, you could say she’s working on the perfection of the song: she’s learning to play it flawlessly.
Vocabulary lists containing perfection
"Imperfect Me"
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"Romeo and Juliet" and "West Side Story"
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James Monroe's First Inaugural Address (1817)
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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.
It begins in vulnerability—a future cold day, redeemed by tonight’s memory—and ends in a plea that the beloved change nothing, prizing acceptance over perfection.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
The high multiple has made it susceptible to volatility, as any headline or development can threaten to satisfy a market that has priced the shares to perfection.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 2, 2026
As Amini wrote of the glass blade, “the perfection of this form is preserved only with the mental space shared between the conceptualizing artist and the interpreting artist.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026
"Don't wait for perfection because that extra 20 is going to take you too long and you might miss the market," she says.
From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026
Uto'pian, ideal, fanciful, chimerical: from "Utopia"—an imaginary island, represented by Sir Thomas More, in a work called "Utopia," as enjoying the greatest perfection in politics laws, and society.
From New Word-Analysis by William Swinton
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.
