as in improperly
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Recent Examples of imperfectly
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
Every year, against impossible odds, one song still tries to answer it—even if imperfectly, for a moment, or for some.
—Desjah Altvater, Forbes.com, 25 May 2026
Ideally everything will reach the market quickly, if imperfectly, rather than Anduril waiting another decade and spending billions to reach 100% perfection.
—Allie Garfinkle, Fortune, 6 May 2026
But the trajectory seems to be that science is learning, cautiously and imperfectly, to author life.
—André O. Hudson, The Conversation, 30 Apr. 2026
The marathon showed that robots can run—imperfectly, but convincingly enough.
—Ni Tao, Interesting Engineering, 20 Apr. 2026
They can be done imperfectly without being done disastrously.
—Leslie John, Time, 27 Feb. 2026
Yet, like Bessette’s relationship with the Kennedy family scion, her eternity band is shrouded in mystery—imperfectly recorded through rumors, second-hand accounts, and myths invented by the press and populace.
—Bailey Bujnosek, InStyle, 17 Feb. 2026
While Julia-Roberts-as-Liz-Gilbert’s story ended, Liz-Gilbert-as-Liz-Gilbert is still moving ahead, honestly and imperfectly.
—Lilit Marcus, CNN Money, 16 Feb. 2026
Eddie Brown, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 May 2026
Every year, against impossible odds, one song still tries to answer it—even if imperfectly, for a moment, or for some.
—Desjah Altvater, Forbes.com, 25 May 2026
Ideally everything will reach the market quickly, if imperfectly, rather than Anduril waiting another decade and spending billions to reach 100% perfection.
—Allie Garfinkle, Fortune, 6 May 2026
But the trajectory seems to be that science is learning, cautiously and imperfectly, to author life.
—André O. Hudson, The Conversation, 30 Apr. 2026
The marathon showed that robots can run—imperfectly, but convincingly enough.
—Ni Tao, Interesting Engineering, 20 Apr. 2026
They can be done imperfectly without being done disastrously.
—Leslie John, Time, 27 Feb. 2026
Yet, like Bessette’s relationship with the Kennedy family scion, her eternity band is shrouded in mystery—imperfectly recorded through rumors, second-hand accounts, and myths invented by the press and populace.
—Bailey Bujnosek, InStyle, 17 Feb. 2026
While Julia-Roberts-as-Liz-Gilbert’s story ended, Liz-Gilbert-as-Liz-Gilbert is still moving ahead, honestly and imperfectly.
—Lilit Marcus, CNN Money, 16 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for imperfectly
Adverb
-
The actions reflect growing concern inside the administration that weak oversight is allowing enormous sums of public healthcare spending to flow out the door improperly.—
Sally Pipes,
Forbes.com,
1 June 2026
-
Bishop argued that Fulton County is improperly asking the judge to speculate about whether any future charges might be barred by statutes of limitations before investigators have completed their work.—
Kaelan Deese,
The Washington Examiner,
1 June 2026
Adverb
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India’s waste management system relies heavily on informal collectors who remain inadequately compensated, leading to the creation of parallel streams in the waste economy.—
Aman Kumar,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
14 May 2026
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What many patients encounter instead is medical dismissal—a pattern of having symptoms minimized, deprioritized or inadequately investigated.—
Lauryn Higgins,
Flow Space,
12 May 2026
Adverb
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For people with melanin-rich skin, hyperpigmentation and burns are among the most common concerns and typically occur when an inexperienced provider uses a device incorrectly.—
Aimee Simeon,
Allure,
3 June 2026
-
It can also be used if a corner kick is incorrectly awarded to a team.—
Pete Grathoff,
Kansas City Star,
3 June 2026
Adverb
-
Edwards, one of the lawyers who filed a civil case in 2008 against the government on behalf of Epstein’s survivors, said Reiter and Recarey’s role in the case has often been wrongly treated as a footnote.—
Julie K. Brown,
Miami Herald,
4 June 2026
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But the Supreme Court said the panel wrongly interpreted Alabama’s disagreement with the lower court’s initial ruling against the map as proof of discriminatory intent.—
Maureen Groppe,
USA Today,
3 June 2026
Adverb
-
This prevented the driver from being erroneously cited and the incident could be used to show other drivers how the cameras were protecting them.—
James Morris,
Forbes.com,
31 May 2026
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The Sentinel discovered the development with Gavi’s license because her name was included erroneously at one point in the Bastien documents.—
Annie Martin,
The Orlando Sentinel,
22 May 2026
Adverb
-
Though Rogers is Christian, his story of transformation from weakling to hero certainly spoke to young Jewish boys and men, who were often inaccurately portrayed in the media and press as intellectually superior but physically inferior.—
Miriam Eve Mora,
The Conversation,
7 May 2026
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In 2024, Abbott recalled several lots of Libre 3 sensors due to inaccurately high readings.—
Elizabeth Chuck,
NBC news,
11 Mar. 2026
Adverb
-
Argueta denies touching the girl inappropriately.—
Adam Thompson,
CBS News,
26 May 2026
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Zahrt first called the Department of Child and Family Services in 2018 when her then-7-year-old daughter began rubbing lotion on herself inappropriately, and claimed that was how her father instructed her to do so, Zahrt said in the Hulu series.—
Jordana Comiter,
PEOPLE,
22 May 2026
Adverb
-
It’s been embarrassing watching both candidates smear each other as insufficiently MAGA.—
The Editorial Board,
Oc Register,
3 June 2026
-
Paxton pitched Cornyn as an insufficiently conservative senator and the anti-Trump candidate.—
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
2 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Imperfectly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/imperfectly. Accessed 8 Jun. 2026.
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