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Webster 1913 Edition

Perfect

Per′fect

(pẽr′fĕkt)
,
Adj.
[OE.
parfit
, OF.
parfit
,
parfet
,
parfait
, F.
parfait
, L.
perfectus
, p. p. of
perficere
to carry to the end, to perform, finish, perfect;
per
(see
Per-
) +
facere
to make, do. See
Fact
.]
1.
Brought to consummation or completeness; completed; not defective nor redundant; having all the properties or qualities requisite to its nature and kind; without flaw, fault, or blemish; without error; mature; whole; pure; sound; right; correct.
My strength is made
perfect
in weakness.
2 Cor. xii. 9.
Three glorious suns, each one a
perfect
sun.
Shakespeare
I fear I am not in my
perfect
mind.
Shakespeare
O most entire
perfect
sacrifice!
Keble.
God made thee
perfect
, not immutable.
Milton.
2.
Well informed; certain; sure.
I am
perfect
that the Pannonians are now in arms.
Shakespeare
3.
(Bot.)
Hermaphrodite; having both stamens and pistils; – said of a flower.
Perfect cadence
(Mus.)
,
a complete and satisfactory close in the harmony, as upon the tonic preceded by the dominant.
–
Perfect chord
(Mus.)
,
a concord or union of sounds which is perfectly coalescent and agreeable to the ear, as the unison, octave, fifth, and fourth; a perfect consonance; a common chord in its original position of keynote, third, fifth, and octave.
–
Perfect number
(Arith.)
,
a number equal to the sum of all its divisors; as, 28, whose aliquot parts, or divisors, are 14, 7, 4, 2, 1. See
Abundant number
, under
Abundant
.
Brande & C.
–
Perfect tense
(Gram.)
,
a tense which expresses an act or state completed; also called the
perfective tense
.
Syn. – Finished; consummate; complete; entire; faultless; blameless; unblemished.

Per′fect

(pẽr′fĕkt)
,
Noun.
The perfect tense, or a form in that tense.

Per′fect

(pẽr-fĕkt′ or pẽr′fĕkt; 277)
,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Perfected
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Perfecting
.]
[L.
perfectus
, p. p. of
perficere
. See
Perfect
,
Adj.
]
To make perfect; to finish or complete, so as to leave nothing wanting; to give to anything all that is requisite to its nature and kind.
God dwelleth in us, and his love is
perfect
in us.
1 John iv. 12.
Inquire into the nature and properties of the things, . . . and thereby
perfect
our ideas of their distinct species.
Locke.
Perfecting press
(Print.)
,
a press in which the printing on both sides of the paper is completed in one passage through the machine.
Syn. – To finish; accomplish; complete; consummate.

Webster 1828 Edition

Perfect

PER'FECT

,
Adj.
[L. perfectus, perficio, to complete; per and facio, to do or make through, to carry to the end.]
1.
Finished; complete; consummate; not defective; having all that is requisite to its nature and kind; as a perfect statue; a perfect likeness; a perfect work; a perfect system.
As full, as perfect in a hair as heart.
2.
Fully informed; completely skilled; as men perfect in the use of arms; perfect in discipline.
3.
Complete in moral excellencies.
Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father who is in heaven is perfect. Matt.5.
4.
Manifesting perfection.
My strength is made perfect in weakness. 2 Cor.12.
Perfect chord,in music, a concord or union of sounds which is perfectly coalescent and agreeable to the ear, as the fifth and the octave; a perfect consonance.
A perfect flower, in botany, has both stamen and pistil, or at least another and stigma.
Perfect tense, in grammar, the preterit tense; a tense which expresses an act completed.

PER'FECT

,
Verb.
T.
[L. perfectus, perficio.] To finish or complete so as to leave nothing wanting; to give to any thing all that is requisite to its nature and kind; as, to perfect a picture or statue. 2 Chron.8.
-Inquire into the nature and properties of things, and thereby perfect our ideas of distinct species.
If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us. 1 John 4.
1.
To instruct fully; to make fully skillful; as, to perfect one's self in the rules of music or architecture; to perfect soldiers in discipline.

Definition 2024

perfect

perfect

English

This can be perceived by the human eye as a perfect circle, (i.e. completely round, without imperfections), perfectly black (i.e. without reflecting any light).

Alternative forms

  • (abbreviation, grammar): pf.

Pronunciation

  • (UK) IPA(key): /ˈpɜː.fɪkt/, /ˈpɜː.fɛkt/
  • (US) IPA(key): /ˈpɝːfɪkt/, /ˈpɝːfɛkt/

Adjective

perfect ‎(comparative perfecter or more perfect, superlative perfectest or most perfect)

  1. Fitting its definition precisely.
    a perfect circle‎
  2. Having all of its parts in harmony with a common purpose.
    That bucket with the hole in the bottom is a poor bucket, but it is perfect for watering plants.‎
  3. Without fault or mistake; thoroughly skilled or talented.
    Practice makes perfect.‎
  4. Excellent and delightful in all respects.
    a perfect day‎
    • 1879, Richard Jefferies, The Amateur Poacher, chapter1:
      They burned the old gun that used to stand in the dark corner up in the garret, close to the stuffed fox that always grinned so fiercely. Perhaps the reason why he seemed in such a ghastly rage was that he did not come by his death fairly. Otherwise his pelt would not have been so perfect. And why else was he put away up there out of sight?—and so magnificent a brush as he had too.
  5. (grammar, of a tense or verb form) Representing a completed action.
  6. (biology) Sexually mature and fully differentiated.
  7. (botany) Of flowers, having both male (stamens) and female (carpels) parts.
  8. (analysis) Of a set, that it is equal to its set of limit points, i.e. set A is perfect if A=A'.
  9. (music) Describing an interval or any compound interval of a unison, octave, or fourths and fifths that are not tritones.
  10. (of a cocktail) Made with equal parts of sweet and dry vermouth.
    a perfect Manhattan;  a perfect Rob Roy‎
  11. (obsolete) Well informed; certain; sure.
Usage notes

Some authorities proscribe the comparative and superlative forms "more perfect" and "most perfect", on the grounds that perfection is an absolute state.[1][2][3] Nevertheless, graded forms have been in common use in writing for centuries – for instance the Preamble to the United States Constitution, drafted in 1787, describes its goal as "a more perfect Union". In these cases, "more perfect" can mean "closer to perfection", "less imperfect" or "improving upon an already perfect state".

Synonyms
Antonyms
Hyponyms
Derived terms
Related terms
Translations

Noun

perfect ‎(plural perfects)

  1. (grammar) The perfect tense, or a form in that tense.
Synonyms

Etymology 2

From perfect (adjective).

Pronunciation

  • (UK) IPA(key): /pəˈfɛkt/
  • (US) IPA(key): /pɚˈfɛkt/

Verb

perfect ‎(third-person singular simple present perfects, present participle perfecting, simple past and past participle perfected)

  1. (transitive) To make perfect; to improve or hone.
    I am going to perfect this article.
    You spend too much time trying to perfect your dancing.
  2. (law) To take an action, usually the filing of a document in the correct venue, that secures a legal right.
    perfect an appeal; perfect an interest; perfect a judgment
Synonyms
Related terms
Translations

Statistics

Most common English words before 1923: sister · occasion · enemy · #729: perfect · bright · scarcely · Paris

Anagrams

References

  1. ↑ 2004, Ann Batko, Edward Rosenheim, When Bad Grammar Happens to Good People: How to Avoid Common Errors in English, Career Press (ISBN 9781564147226), page 136
  2. ↑ 1843, Roswell Chamberlain Smith, Smith's New Grammar, page 144
  3. ↑ 2015, Stephen Spector, May I Quote You on That?: A Guide to Grammar and Usage, Oxford University Press (ISBN 9780190215293), page 161

Dutch

Pronunciation

Adjective

perfect ‎(comparative perfecter, superlative perfectst)

  1. perfect

Inflection

Inflection of perfect
uninflected perfect
inflected perfecte
comparative perfecter
positive comparative superlative
predicative/adverbial perfect perfecter het perfectst
het perfectste
indefinite m./f. sing. perfecte perfectere perfectste
n. sing. perfect perfecter perfectste
plural perfecte perfectere perfectste
definite perfecte perfectere perfectste
partitive perfects perfecters —

Adverb

perfect

  1. perfectly

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowing from Latin perfectus, German perfekt.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [perˈfekt]

Adjective

perfect m, n ‎(feminine singular perfectă, masculine plural perfecți, feminine and neuter plural perfecte)

  1. perfect, flawless

Declension

Synonyms

  • desăvârșit

Antonyms

Adverb

perfect

  1. perfectly, completely

Noun

perfect n ‎(uncountable)

  1. perfect tense

Derived terms

  • perfect compus
  • perfect simplu

Etymology

From Middle English perfit, from Old French parfit (modern: parfait), from Latin perfectus, perfect passive participle of perficere ‎(“to finish”), from per- ‎(“through, thorough”) + facere ‎(“to do, to make”). Spelling modified 15c. to conform Latin etymology.

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