immaculate

adjective im·mac·u·late \ i-ˈma-kyə-lət \

|Updated on: 13 Jul 2018

Examples: immaculate in a Sentence

Editor's Note: Did You Know?

Definition of immaculate

1 : having no stain or blemish : pure

an immaculate heart

2 : having or containing no flaw or error

an immaculate record of service

in immaculate detail

3 a : spotlessly clean

an immaculate kitchen

immaculate uniforms

b : having no colored spots or marks —used especially in botany and zoology

petals immaculate

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immaculately

adverb

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immaculateness

noun

- … the immaculateness of scrubbed decks …
- —William Sansom

See immaculate defined for English-language learners

See immaculate defined for kids

immaculate was our Word of the Day on 09/02/2015. Hear the podcast!

Examples of immaculate in a Sentence

… they seemed as remote from metaphysics as their lunch bags and knapsacks. Yet weren't they all heading for those immaculate country snowfields to talk of God? —Cynthia Ozick, Atlantic, May 1997
… and added to this was the fact that this Soviet Army Colonel had a service record that was as immaculate as a field of freshly fallen snow … —Tom Clancy, The Cardinal of the Kremlin, (1988) 1989
I was expecting some giant to emerge, but in came a tiny, immaculate, white-haired man. —Anna Russell, I'm Not Making This Up, You Know, 1985
She had an immaculate record of service.
somehow managed to keep the white carpet immaculate

Recent Examples of immaculate from the Web

The 15,846-square foot home included a spa, swimming pool, elevator, home theater and ocean views, the sort of immaculate space that might appeal to a multimillionaire with a wife, three children and a burgeoning business empire off the court.

— nathan fenno, latimes.com, "LeBron James dropped hints for a year that he would join Lakers," 3 July 2018
The area around the street-level elevator was immaculate and smelled of new paint.

— william finnegan, The New Yorker, "Can Andy Byford Save the Subways?," 2 July 2018
An immaculate white convertible — the BMW of its day — and well out of the reach of a pack of teenage Orange toughs.

— Longreads, "The Cold War and its Fallout," 16 June 2018
The club has always had immaculate acoustics; more than 100 records recorded live at the Vanguard by musicians like John Coltrane, Bill Evans, Sonny Rollins and Wynton Marsalis attest to that.

— tim weiner, New York Times, "Lorraine Gordon, Keeper of the Village Vanguard Flame, Dies at 95," 9 June 2018
During the Horse Guards Parade, Kate watched Queen Elizabeth take the salute and review her immaculate troops as the Colour, a regimental flag, was paraded in the ceremony, which dates back to the 18th century.

— dana rose falcone, PEOPLE.com, "See Kate Middleton's 2011 Trooping the Colour Debut 3 Days Before Meghan Markle Makes Hers!," 6 June 2018
Ehrlich is the longtime homeowner of an immaculate gem in Old Louisville — a 1903 mansion that boasts 10 rooms complete with original flooring, woodwork and a shade garden that is to-die-for elegant.

— kathryn gregory, The Courier-Journal, "Lush shade garden is a hidden gem in this Old Louisville mansion," 24 May 2018
The Ritz Carlton, Aruba The Ritz Carlton, Aruba, on the island’s famed Palm Beach, is a good choice for honeymooners seeking immaculate accommodations and sophisticated service, with the price tag to match.

— mark rogers, USA TODAY, "Honeymoon guide: Six appealing Aruba resorts for couples," 17 Apr. 2018
Moreover, Czech farmers kept immaculate pastures, Vaught said, which tend to make good ballfields.

— roy bragg, San Antonio Express-News, "German (and Czech) towns are baseball hotbeds," 3 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'immaculate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

The opposite of immaculate is maculate, which means "marked with spots" or "impure." The Latin word maculatus, the past participle of a verb meaning "to stain," is the source of both words and can be traced back to macula, a word that scientists still use for spots on the skin, on the wings of insects, and on the surface of celestial objects. Maculate has not marked as many pages as immaculate, but it has appeared occasionally (one might say "spottily"), especially as an antithesis to immaculate. We find the pair, for example, in an article by Peter Schjeldahl in an April 2004 issue of The New Yorker: "Rob's apartment, with its immaculate ranks of album spines and its all too maculate strewing of everything else…."

Origin and Etymology of immaculate

Middle English immaculat, from Latin immaculatus, from in- + maculatus stained — more at maculate

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

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immaculate Synonyms

IMMACULATE Defined for English Language Learners

immaculate

adjective

Definition of immaculate for English Language Learners

: perfectly clean
: having no flaw or error

IMMACULATE Defined for Kids

immaculate

adjective im·mac·u·late \ i-ˈma-kyə-lət \

Definition of immaculate for Students

1 : perfectly clean

2 : having no flaw or error

He has an immaculate record.

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immaculately

adverb

Learn More about immaculate

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immaculate was our Word of the Day on 09/02/2015. Hear the podcast!

Examples of immaculate in a Sentence

Recent Examples of immaculate from the Web

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Origin and Etymology of immaculate

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