as in dreamer
a person who wants things to be done perfectly or who tries to do things perfectly
I'm a bit of a perfectionist, which makes it difficult for me to finish things sometimes.
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Recent Examples of perfectionist
As a teacher and mother—and lifelong perfectionist—I was used to tending to others’ emotional needs, anticipating them.
—
Literary Hub, 18 Feb. 2026
Rumi, who’s a perfectionist, that leads to a lot of the darkness and her shadow side.
—Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 17 Feb. 2026
One is a nomad, and one is an organized perfectionist.
—Amanda Favazza, Southern Living, 15 Feb. 2026
To be a perfectionist is normally to be a pain.
—Kevin Power, The New York Review of Books, 2 Feb. 2026
Smith-Njigba is a perfectionist, though.
—Michael-Shawn Dugar, New York Times, 10 Jan. 2026
While Davis was known as being a perfectionist to a fault, which sometimes led to clashes with cohorts on her many movie sets, this wasn't the case between the two actresses while filming 1961's Pocketful of Miracles.
—Angela Andaloro, PEOPLE, 9 Jan. 2026
Kubrick was a notorious perfectionist who spent years on each of his films and demanded dozens, sometimes hundreds, of takes per scene.
—Lane Brown, Vulture, 17 Dec. 2025
Both Virgos and Taureans are known to be headstrong perfectionists, so don’t be too harsh on yourself during these fun few weeks.
—Snehaa Khanna Sahgal, Vogue, 26 Nov. 2025
Literary Hub, 18 Feb. 2026
Rumi, who’s a perfectionist, that leads to a lot of the darkness and her shadow side.
—Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 17 Feb. 2026
One is a nomad, and one is an organized perfectionist.
—Amanda Favazza, Southern Living, 15 Feb. 2026
To be a perfectionist is normally to be a pain.
—Kevin Power, The New York Review of Books, 2 Feb. 2026
Smith-Njigba is a perfectionist, though.
—Michael-Shawn Dugar, New York Times, 10 Jan. 2026
While Davis was known as being a perfectionist to a fault, which sometimes led to clashes with cohorts on her many movie sets, this wasn't the case between the two actresses while filming 1961's Pocketful of Miracles.
—Angela Andaloro, PEOPLE, 9 Jan. 2026
Kubrick was a notorious perfectionist who spent years on each of his films and demanded dozens, sometimes hundreds, of takes per scene.
—Lane Brown, Vulture, 17 Dec. 2025
Both Virgos and Taureans are known to be headstrong perfectionists, so don’t be too harsh on yourself during these fun few weeks.
—Snehaa Khanna Sahgal, Vogue, 26 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for perfectionist
dreamer
Noun
-
While the study was small, the team saw signs that dreaming about a puzzle was linked to being able to solve it the following morning–although, intriguingly, normal dreamers were more successful than lucid ones.—
Veronique Greenwood,
Time,
26 Feb. 2026
-
Shenzhen is likened to a vibrant harbor for dreamers, and the hotel is pulling off the feat of becoming a gathering place for tech professionals and financial elites.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
25 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Perfectionist.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/perfectionist. Accessed 28 Feb. 2026.
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