perfection

noun

per·​fec·​tion pər-ˈfek-shən 

1

: the quality or state of being perfect: such as

a

: freedom from fault or defect : flawlessness

b

: maturity

c

: the quality or state of being saintly

2

a

: an exemplification of supreme excellence

b

: an unsurpassable degree of accuracy or excellence

3

: the act or process of perfecting

Synonyms

• excellence
• excellency

Examples of perfection in a Sentence

She has achieved a rare perfection in her playing.

His poetry is pure perfection.

Recent Examples on the Web

If their performance against Union Saint-Gilloise did not brush perfection, the result came pretty close. —George Caulkin, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2025

That’s not to say that Waymo’s extreme caution has resulted in perfection. —Saahil Desai, The Atlantic, 2 Oct. 2025

Though he was outdueled by Aaron Nola, whose bid for perfection was broken up by Christian Vázquez’s solo home run with two outs in the sixth inning, Ryan turned in one final strong start to cap the best season of his career. —Betsy Helfand, Twin Cities, 27 Sep. 2025

Slaten was the first of six Red Sox relievers Cora used in a game managed with aggressive perfection. —Gabrielle Starr, Boston Herald, 27 Sep. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English perfeccioun, from Anglo-French perfection, from Latin perfection-, perfectio, from perficere

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing perfection

• to perfection

Rhymes for perfection

• abjection
• advection
• affection
• bijection
• bisection
• collection
• complexion
• confection
• connection
• connexion
• convection
• correction

Kids Definition

perfection

noun

per·​fec·​tion pər-ˈfek-shən 

1

: the quality or state of being perfect

2

: a perfect quality or thing

3

: a degree of accuracy or excellence that cannot be bettered

cooked to perfection

4

: the act or process of perfecting