perfect

View more Entertainment & Arts videos

1. In its primary meaning 'complete, not deficient', perfect is an absolute and cannot logically be qualified by words such as more, most, and very. (This is a philosophical point, not a matter of grammatical correctness.) As the Old English (up to 1150)D notes, however, perfect is 'often used of a near approach to such a state [of complete excellence], and hence is capable of comparison'. Such uses are found in literature from the 14th century onward, including Shakespeare's

Our men more perfect in the use of arms—2 Henry IV iv.i.153.

In modern use, perfect is used more often than not in weakened meanings and is therefore amenable to qualification:

What figure is more perfect than the sphere—William Golding, 1965

Maybe not purity but he seemed so perfect and so unreal, in a way—Chinua Achebe, 1987.

The almost-complete medieval town curls around the port and at one end...is San Nicola Pellegrino, the most perfect of all cathedrals—Times, 1995.

2. Perfect is pronounced with the stress on the first syllable as an adjective and with the stress on the second syllable as a verb.

Previous:	perennial, peremptory, percentage
Next:	perfect infinitive, perfectible, perimeter

Market dominated by a single producer, where no competition of any kind to that producer can arise.

Previous:	Percentile, Percentage-Of-Sales Method, Percentage-Of-Completion Method
Next:	Perfect Competition, Perfected, Performance

A cocktail term for drinks made with half sweet and half dry vermouth. For instance, a manhattan which is made with sweet vermouth, becomes a "perfect Manhattan" when made with equal parts sweet and dry vermouth.

adjective

1. Lacking nothing essential or normal: complete, entire, full, intact, integral, whole. See part/whole.
2. In excellent condition: entire, flawless, good, intact, sound², unblemished, unbroken, undamaged, unharmed, unhurt, unimpaired, uninjured, unmarred, whole. See thrive/fail/exist.
3. Without imperfections or blemishes, as a line or contour: clean, regular. See beautiful/ugly.
4. Conforming to an ultimate form of perfection or excellence: exemplary, ideal, model, supreme. See good/bad.
5. Not more or less: complete, entire, full, good, round, whole. See part/whole, precise/imprecise.
6. Completely such, without qualification or exception: absolute, all-out, arrant, complete, consummate, crashing, damned, dead, downright, flat, out-and-out, outright, plain, pure, sheer², thorough, thoroughgoing, total, unbounded, unequivocal, unlimited, unmitigated, unqualified, unrelieved, unreserved, utter². Informal flat-out, positive. Chiefly British blooming. See big/small/amount, limited/unlimited.
7. Free from extraneous elements: absolute, plain, pure, sheer², simple, unadulterated, undiluted, unmixed. See clean/dirty.
8. Supremely excellent in quality or nature: absolute, consummate, faultless, flawless, impeccable, indefectible, unflawed. See good/bad.

verb

To bring to perfection or completion: polish, refine, smooth. Idioms: smooth off the rough edges. See better/worse.

adj

Definition: accurate, correct
Antonyms: imperfect, imprecise, inaccurate, incorrect, wrong

adj

Definition: flawless, superlative
Antonyms: defective, faulty, flawed, imperfect, inferior, second-rate, unbroken

adj

Definition: whole, intact
Antonyms: broken, imperfect, incomplete, part, partial, unfinished

v

Definition: polish; achieve
Antonyms: destroy, ruin

Term used in early mensural Notation to denote a relationship of 3:1 (as opposed to imperfect, 2:1) in time (the relation between semibreve/whole-note and breve/double whole-note) or prolation (the relation between minim/half-note and semibreve/whole-note).

---

This entry contains information applicable to United States law only.

Complete; finished; executed; enforceable; without defect; merchantable; marketable.

To perfect a title is to record or register it in the proper place so that one's ownership will be established against all others.

sign description: Both P-hands rotate around each other and then come together at the touch fingers.

---

For a list of words related to perfect, see:

• Beautiful, attractive, or well-formed
• Grammar and Usage - perfect: verb tense noting action or state terminated prior to some temporal point of reference
• Special, Bright, Skillful, or Unusual
• Wise, Mature, or Experienced

---

See words rhyming with "perfecter."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Perfect.

Dansk (Danish)
adj. - fuldkommen, nøjagtig, fuldstændig, perfekt
v. tr. - gøre fuldkommen, perfektionere, forbedre, gøre færdig
n. - førnutid, perfektum

idioms:

• perfect binding    rentryk
• perfect interval    perfekt interval
• perfect pitch    absolut gehør
• perfect square    kvadratrodstal

Nederlands (Dutch)
volmaakt, volkomen, voltooid, voortreffelijk, voltooid tegenwoordige tijd, perfectioneren, volmaken, verbeteren, voltooien, keerzijde bedrukken (van blad)

Français (French)
adj. - exemplaire, idéal, véritable, (Ling) parfait
v. tr. - perfectionner
n. - (Ling) parfait

idioms:

• perfect binding    collé (reliure d'un livre)
• perfect interval    (Mus) intervalle parfait
• perfect pitch    (Mus) (avoir) l'oreille absolue
• perfect square    carré parfait

Deutsch (German)
v. - perfektionieren, vervollkommnen
n. - Perfekt
adj. - perfekt, vollkommen, vollendet, absolut

idioms:

• perfect binding    Buchbindetechnik des Klebens
• perfect interval    (Mus.) reines Intervall
• perfect pitch    (Mus.) absolutes Gehör
• perfect square    Quadratzahl

Ελληνική (Greek)
v. - τελειοποιώ, συμπληρώνω, ολοκληρώνω, φέρω εις πέρας
n. - (γραμμ.) συντελεσμένος (χρόνος)
adj. - τέλειος, πλήρης, τελειωμένος, (γραμμ.) (για χρόνο) τετελεσμένος/συντελεσμένος

idioms:

• perfect binding    είδος θερμοπλαστικής βιβλιοδεσίας
• perfect interval    (μουσ.) τέλειο/καθαρό διάστημα
• perfect pitch    τέλειος τόνος
• perfect square    τέλειο τετράγωνο

Italiano (Italian)
perfezionare, migliorare, completare, portare a termine, perfetto, passato remoto, completo, esatto

idioms:

• perfect binding    rilegato a colla
• perfect interval    accordo perfetto
• perfect pitch    intonazione giusta
• perfect square    quadrato perfetto

Português (Portuguese)
v. - aperfeiçoar, melhorar, completar
n. - tempo perfeito (Gram.)
adj. - perfeito, completo, terminado, puro, correto, completamente adequado

idioms:

• perfect binding    união perfeita
• perfect interval    intervalo perfeito (Mús.)
• perfect pitch    campo perfeito
• perfect square    quadrado perfeito (Mat.)

Русский (Russian)
доводить до совершенства, совершенный вид, совершенный, безупречный

idioms:

• perfect binding    точный переплет
• perfect interval    точный промежуток
• perfect pitch    абсолютный слух
• perfect square    точный квадрат

Español (Spanish)
adj. - perfecto, ejemplar, completo
v. tr. - perfeccionar
n. - pretérito perfecto

idioms:

• perfect binding    encuadernación perfecta
• perfect interval    intervalo perfecto
• perfect pitch    tener oído perfecto, perfecta afinación o grado del diapasón, lanzamiento perfecto (deporte)
• perfect square    cuadrado perfecto

Svenska (Swedish)
v. - fullända, finslipa
n. - perfektum (gram.)
adj. - perfekt, fullständig, idealisk

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
完美的, 理想的, 全然的, 使完美, 使熟练, 修改, 完成式

idioms:

• perfect binding    无线胶订, 胶装
• perfect interval    完全音程
• perfect pitch    完全音高感
• perfect square    完全平方

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
adj. - 完美的, 理想的, 全然的
v. tr. - 使完美, 使熟練, 修改
n. - 完成式

idioms:

• perfect binding    無線膠訂, 膠裝
• perfect interval    完全音程
• perfect pitch    完全音高感
• perfect square    完全平方

한국어 (Korean)
adj. - 완전한, 아주 숙달한, 조금도 틀림없는
v. tr. - 완성하다, (사람을 ~에) 숙달 시키다, 개선 하다
n. - 완료 시제, 완료형

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 完了時制, 完了形
v. - 完全にする, 仕上げる
adj. - 完全な, 欠けていない, 全くの, 正確な, 完了の, 理想的な

idioms:

• perfect binding    無線綴じ
• perfect interval    完全音程
• perfect pitch    絶対音感
• perfect square    完全平方

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(فعل) يكمل, يتقن, يتمم (الاسم) كامل, لا عيب فيه (صفه) مثالي‏

עברית (Hebrew)
adj. - ‮מושלם, שלם, מדוייק, ללא פגם, מצויין‬
v. tr. - ‮שכלל, עשה באופן מושלם‬
n. - ‮עבר מושלם‬

If you are unable to view some languages clearly, click here.