What does "imperfect" mean?
Something having a minor flaw.
Imperfect
/ɪmˈpɜː(ɹ)fɪkt/ adj, noun, verb
adj, noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Something having a minor flaw.
- Grammar: imperfect is listed as adj, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: adulterated, aggravated, amiss, aorist.
- Useful contrasts: holy, infallible, utopian.
- Usage evidence: As your goods for which you are charging us were imperfect, we will not pay this account.
How to use "imperfect"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "imperfect" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "imperfect" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "imperfect" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "imperfect" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "imperfect" is acting as adj, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "adulterated" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "imperfect", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Something having a minor flaw.
- 2 a tense of verbs used in describing action that is on-going wordnet
- 3 A tense of verbs used in describing a past action that is incomplete or continuous.
Verb
- 1 to make imperfect transitive
"1651, John Donne, Letter to Henry Goodere, in Letters to Severall Persons of Honour, edited by Charles Edmund Merrill, Jr., New York: Sturgis & Walton, 1910, I write to you from the Spring Garden, whither I withdrew my self to think of this; and the intensenesse of my thinking ends in this, that by my help Gods work should be imperfected, if by any means I resisted the amasement."
Adjective
- 1 Not perfect,
"Why, then, your other senses grow imperfect."
- 2 Unisexual: having either male (with stamens) or female (with pistil) flowers, but not with both.
- 3 Known or expected to be polyphyletic, as of a form taxon.
- 4 Representing a continuing or repeated action.
- 5 Lacking some elementary organ that is essential to successful or normal activity. obsolete
"When the prophet Joel was describing the formidable accidents in the day of the Lord's judgment, and the fearful sentence of an angry Judge, he was not able to express it, but stammered like a child, or an amazed, imperfect person."
Adjective
- 1 wanting in moral strength, courage, or will; having the attributes of man as opposed to e.g. divine beings wordnet
- 2 not perfect; defective or inadequate wordnet
Antonyms
Example
"As your goods for which you are charging us were imperfect, we will not pay this account."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "imperfect"?
Common synonyms include: adulterated, aggravated, amiss, aorist, base, blemish.
How do you use "imperfect" in a sentence?
As your goods for which you are charging us were imperfect, we will not pay this account.
How do you pronounce "imperfect"?
Pronounced /ɪmˈpɜː(ɹ)fɪkt/.
Etymology
From Middle English imperfit, from Old French imparfit (modern French imparfait), from Latin imperfectus. Spelling modified 15c. to conform Latin etymology. See im- + perfect.