imperfect
adjective
\
Definition of imperfect
(Entry 1 of 2)
1 : not perfect: such as
a : defective
b of a flower : having stamens or pistils but not both
c : lacking or not involving sexual reproduction the imperfect stage of a fungus
2 : of, relating to, or constituting a verb tense used to designate a continuing state or an incomplete action especially in the past
3 : not enforceable at law
imperfect
nounDefinition of imperfect (Entry 2 of 2)
: an imperfect tense also : the verb form expressing it
Keep scrolling for more
Other Words from imperfect
Adjective
\
adverb
\
noun
Synonyms & Antonyms for imperfect
Synonyms: Adjective
amiss, bad, defective, faulty, flawed
Antonyms: Adjective
faultless, flawless, impeccable, perfect
Visit the Thesaurus for More
Examples of imperfect in a Sentence
Adjective
It's an imperfect solution to a difficult problem. He had an imperfect understanding of the task. In “He was singing when I came in,” “was singing” is in the imperfect tense.
Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective
One of the great things about social media is how people are able to share experiences and put their messy, imperfect truth out there—posting about everything from mental health issues to grief to the reality of stretch marks and cellulite. — Anthea Levi, Health.com, "5 Social Media Influencers Get Real About How Therapy Is the Best Self Care," 14 May 2018 The challenges of helping kids in terrible situations with an imperfect system still remain. — Adiel Kaplan, miamiherald, "She struck down gay adoption ban and handled notorious juvenile cases. Now she's retiring.," 3 July 2018 Mariner generally targets people who have imperfect credit scores, according to the bond rating agencies. — Peter Whoriskey, courant.com, "Unsolicited checks can be a lifeline and an albatross," 2 July 2018 How can experts sift through data that may yield imperfect results? — Melinda Laituri, Scientific American, "Should We Always Trust What We See in Satellite Images?," 4 June 2018 People make imperfect, and often just bad, decisions. — Jennifer Szalai, New York Times, "Going for Broke, the Middle Class Goes Broke," 27 June 2018 The son, Lon Rith, is now based in Philadelphia but returns to Cambodia sporadically to run in elections, although his command of the language is imperfect. — Julia Wallace, New York Times, "‘Fireflies’ and ‘Ghosts’ in Cambodia Prop Up Facade of Real Election," 11 July 2018 And that’s annoying, because humans are deeply imperfect. — Aarian Marshall, WIRED, "A Cruise-on-Cruise Crash Reveals the Hardest Thing About Self-Driving Tech," 3 July 2018 One of the studies to show just how imperfect BMI is on a large scale was published in 2008 in JAMA Internal Medicine, in which researchers found that BMI didn’t always correlate with other measures of health. — Sarah Jacoby, SELF, "The Science on Weight and Health," 26 June 2018Recent Examples on the Web: Noun
Performances had been stuttering, results imperfect: At Santiago Bernabéu, the 85,000-seat stadium where Real Madrid plays its matches, one loss and three draws in 11 league games does not cut it. — Rory Smith, New York Times, "Real Madrid Wins Easily in Zidane’s Debut as Coach JAN. 9, 2016," 2 Dec. 2016These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'imperfect.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Keep scrolling for more
Learn More about imperfect
From the Editors at Merriam-Webster
8 More Grammar Terms You Used to Know:...
8 More Grammar Terms You Used to Know: Special Verb Edition
These grammarians are going places
Dictionary Entries near imperfect
Statistics for imperfect
Last Updated
28 Oct 2018
Look-up Popularity
Time Traveler for imperfect
The first known use of imperfect was in the 14th century
Keep scrolling for more
More Definitions for imperfect
imperfect
adjective
English Language Learners Definition of imperfect
: having mistakes or problems : not perfect
grammar : of or relating to a verb tense used to express an incomplete action in the past or a state that continued for a period of time in the past
See the full definition for imperfect in the English Language Learners Dictionary
imperfect
adjective
\
Kids Definition of imperfect
: having a fault of some kind : not perfect
imperfect
adjectiveLegal Definition of imperfect
: not perfect or complete: as
a : not enforceable : enforceable only under certain conditions an imperfect obligation
b : lacking an element otherwise required by law — compare perfect
Keep scrolling for more
Comments on imperfect
What made you want to look up imperfect? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).
Test Your Vocabulary
Difficult Vocab Quiz
-
- Which is a synonym of discomfit?
Test your knowledge - and maybe learn something along the way.
TAKE THE QUIZ
Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.
TAKE THE QUIZLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridgedWords at Play
Ask the Editors
Word Games
-
Difficult Vocab Quiz
Another round of challenging vocab!
Take the quiz -
Autumn Words of the Day 2018
Take the quiz -
True or False?
Test your knowledge - and maybe learn something along the way.
Take the quiz -
Dictionary Devil
The dictionary has been scrambled—can you put it back together?
Play the game
Share imperfect
Resources for imperfect