perfect

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English

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

Alternative forms

Etymology 1

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 to Latin etymology. Doublet of parfait.

Displaced native Old English fulfremed.

Pronunciation

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; without flaw, of supreme quality.
    The gymnast performed a perfect somersault.
    I think I'm in love—I can't stop thinking about her. She's perfect!
    1. (of a copy) Exact, correctly reflecting the original in all aspects.
      The expert forger made a perfect copy of the victim's driver's license
    2. (of an actor) Having thoroughly learned or memorized a part.
    3. (obsolete outside set of phrases) Of a person: having thoroughly learned or memorized a lesson; of a lesson: having been thoroughly learned or memorized.
      Practice makes perfect.
      word-perfect, letter-perfect
    4. (obsolete) Fully trained or very knowledgeable; highly skilled
  4. Excellent and delightful in all respects.
    a perfect day
    • 1879, R[ichard] J[efferies], chapter 1, in The Amateur Poacher, London: Smith, Elder, & Co., […], →OCLC:
      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. Morally or spiritually immaculate or ideal.
  6. (grammar, of a tense or verb form) Representing a completed action.
  7. (biology) Sexually mature and fully differentiated.
  8. (botany) Of flowers: having both male parts (stamens) and female parts (carpels).
  9. (mathematics) Of a number: equal to the sum of its proper divisors.
    6 is perfect because the sum of its proper divisors, 1, 2, and 3, which is 6, is equal to the number itself.
  10. (mathematical analysis) Of a set: equal to its set of limit points, i.e. set A is perfect if A=A'.
  11. (music) Describing an interval or any compound interval of a unison, octave, or fourths and fifths that are not tritones.
  12. (of a cocktail) Made with equal parts of sweet and dry vermouth.
    a perfect Manhattan; a perfect Rob Roy
  13. (obsolete) Well informed; certain; sure.
  14. (obsolete) Innocent, guiltless; without blemish.
  15. (obsolete) Sane, of sound mind.
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
Coordinate terms
Derived terms
Translations
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Noun

perfect (plural perfects)

  1. (grammar) The perfect tense, or a form in that tense.
  2. (video games) A perfect score; the achievement of finishing a stage or task with no mistakes.
    • 2007, Barbara Smith, Chad Yancey, Video Game Achievements and Unlockables, page 17:
      Awarded for scoring all Perfects in the Dominator rank!
    • 2007, Eli Neiburger, Gamers-- in the Library?!:
      […] a table of all the ratings that each player has achieved, giving you several scoring options based on player feedback (I simply record the number of perfects).
  3. (historical, Christianity) A leader of the Cathar movement.
    Synonym: perfectus
    Hyponym: perfecta
Synonyms
Translations

Etymology 2

From perfect (adjective).

Pronunciation

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

References

  1. ^ 2004, Ann Batko, Edward Rosenheim, When Bad Grammar Happens to Good People: How to Avoid Common Errors in English, Career Press →ISBN, 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, page 161

Anagrams

Chinese

Alternative forms

Etymology

From English perfect.

Pronunciation

Adjective

perfect

  1. (Hong Kong Cantonese) perfect; excellent; flawless

References

Dutch

Etymology

From Middle Dutch perfect, from Latin perfectus.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /pɛrˈfɛkt/, /pərˈfɛkt/
  • Audio(file)
  • Hyphenation: per‧fect
  • Rhymes: -ɛkt

Adjective

perfect (comparative perfecter, superlative perfectst)

  1. perfect
    Synonym: volmaakt

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 —

Derived terms

Related terms

Descendants

  • Afrikaans: perfek

Adverb

perfect

  1. perfectly

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin perfectus, German perfekt.

Pronunciation

Adjective

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

  1. perfect, flawless
    Synonym: desăvârșit
    Antonyms: imperfect, nedesăvârșit

Declension

Declension of perfect
singular plural
masculine neuter feminine masculine neuter feminine
nominative/
accusative 		indefinite perfect perfectă perfecți perfecti
definite perfectul perfecta perfecții perfectile
genitive/
dative 		indefinite perfect perfecti perfecți perfecti
definite perfectului perfectii perfecților perfectilor

Adverb

perfect

  1. perfectly, completely

Noun

perfect n (uncountable)

  1. perfect tense

Derived terms

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