imperfectly

adverb

as in improperly

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of imperfectly Weaving the narratives together creates a fuller picture of generations of men and women who, however imperfectly, did their best to carve out lives for themselves in a world determined to humiliate them. — Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 4 Nov. 2026 The department exists to preserve some semblance of equal justice in the United States — imperfectly, haltingly, often overbearingly for some and cautiously for others — and help ensure that the nation is governed by the rule of law. — New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 20 Aug. 2026 Rather than suffering because leaders acted imperfectly, organizations often suffer because leaders waited too long to act at all. — Irma Becerra, Forbes.com, 6 Aug. 2026 Stories of first times, of big feelings imperfectly grasped, of life coming into focus for better or worse. — Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 5 Aug. 2026 America’s next 250 years America has rebuilt trust before, imperfectly and through struggle. — Keith Krach, Fortune, 1 Aug. 2026 But the legal system’s binary standard—sane and guilty, or insane and not—fits imperfectly with human intuitions about culpability in tragedies like the Clancys’. — Eren Orbey, New Yorker, 30 July 2026 Let a few tendrils fall to frame your face for an imperfectly perfect look like Salma Hayek's style. — Emily Kelleher, InStyle, 24 June 2026 The sport that does more to restrain imbalance, however imperfectly, keeps tightening its grip on the national imagination. — Eddie Brown, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for imperfectly
  1. improperly
  2. inadequately
  3. incorrectly
  4. wrongly
  5. erroneously
  6. misguidedly
  7. inaccurately
  8. irrelevantly
Adverb
  • The case began to fall apart in April, after a federal judge ruled a customs officer improperly canceled Petrova’s visa over the incident.
    — Michael Casey, Los Angeles Times, 4 Nov. 2026
  • Two large containers of cooked bean were improperly cooling in the walk-in refrigerator.
    — Sacbee.com, Sacbee.com, 30 Oct. 2026
Definition of improperly
Adverb
  • However, his excavations focused largely on major artifacts while leaving other parts of the tombs unexplored and inadequately documented.
    — Anne Doran for ARTnews, Robb Report, 3 Nov. 2026
  • Jackson County used flawed property value assessments, inadequately notified taxpayers, conducted substandard inspections and had poor oversight, according to a scathing report from Missouri State Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick.
    — Jack Harvel, Kansas City Star, 30 Oct. 2026
Definition of inadequately
Adverb
  • The system, which scans a barcode on the ballot, incorrectly flagged some ballots as wrong, preventing voters from checking in until the issue was resolved.
    — Milena Malaver, Miami Herald, 3 Nov. 2026
  • Wright was removed from the ballot two weeks ago by Broward Circuit Judge Michael Robinson, who determined that Wright incorrectly filled out qualifying forms by listing himself as his campaign’s deputy treasurer.
    — Rafael Olmeda, Sun Sentinel, 30 Oct. 2026
Definition of incorrectly
Adverb
  • Defense attorneys have maintained that Rinderknecht was wrongly accused.
    — Reuters, NBC news, 2 Nov. 2026
  • Investigators also said four businesses that rented space in buildings Espinosa owned wrongly received $40,000 in grants.
    — Orlando Sentinel Staff, The Orlando Sentinel, 1 Nov. 2026
Definition of wrongly
Adverb
  • It is often erroneously compared to Halloween, though the two holidays may share ancestry in Catholicism’s All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day.
    — Rocio Muñoz Ledo, CNN Money, 31 Oct. 2026
  • The law is supposed to prevent mistakes that could erroneously purge eligible voters right before an election without giving voters time to correct errors.
    — Miles Parks, NPR, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of erroneously
Adverb
  • In both projects, she was tasked not only with playing the same person from young adulthood to maturity, but also with bringing new dimension to a literary character whom readers have misguidedly despised for decades.
    — Hillary Busis, Vanity Fair, 25 Sep. 2026
Definition of misguidedly
Adverb
  • Doctors warn that these unregulated products may not be what is advertised and may be contaminated or inaccurately dosed.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 28 Oct. 2026
  • Part of the Blue Island discourse was predicated on the language some Black artists sometimes use to express their frustration around their art being inaccurately labeled.
    — Kyle Denis, Billboard, 12 Oct. 2026
Definition of inaccurately
Adverb
  • Grandma, irrelevantly but convincingly, spoke of wars, blizzards and trekking barefoot to school.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 15 July 2026
Definition of irrelevantly

Browse Nearby Words

imperfections
imperfectly
imperfectness
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Cite this Entry

“Imperfectly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/imperfectly. Accessed 9 Nov. 2026.

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