noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   An unwillingness to settle for anything less than perfection. countable, uncountable
2. 2
   a disposition to feel that anything less than perfect is unacceptable wordnet
3. 3
   A belief that spiritual perfection may be achieved during life, or that it should be striven for. countable, uncountable

Synonyms

All synonyms

casuistrycheerfulnessdiscriminationempiricismgolden rulehedonism

Example

More examples

"She suffers from perfectionism and fear of failure."

Etymology

From perfection + -ism.

Related phrases

belief that spiritual perfection may be achieved during life or that it should be striven forunwillingness to settle for anything less than perfection

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.