imperfect

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Related to imperfect: Imperfect competition, imperfect tense

im·per·fect

(ĭm-pûr′fĭkt)

adj.

1. Not perfect.

2. Grammar Of or being the tense of a verb that shows, usually in the past, an action or a condition as incomplete, continuous, or coincident with another action.

3. Botany Having either stamens or a pistil only. Used of a flower.

4. Not reproducing sexually. Used of fungi.

5. Law Potentially unenforceable; limited or defective: an imperfect right of self defense.

1. A piece of merchandise having a minor flaw that does not impair its use, usually sold at a discount.

2. Grammar

a. The imperfect tense.

b. A verb in the imperfect tense.

[Middle English imparfit, from Old French imparfait, from Latin imperfectus : in-, not; see in-¹ + perfectus, perfect; see perfect.]

im·per′fect·ly adv.

im·per′fect·ness n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

imperfect

(ɪmˈpɜːfɪkt)

adj

1. exhibiting or characterized by faults, mistakes, etc; defective

2. not complete or finished; deficient

3. (Botany) botany

a. (of flowers) lacking functional stamens or pistils

b. (of fungi) not undergoing sexual reproduction

4. (Grammar) grammar denoting a tense of verbs used most commonly in describing continuous or repeated past actions or events, as for example was walking as opposed to walked

5. (Law) law (of a trust, an obligation, etc) lacking some necessary formality to make effective or binding; incomplete; legally unenforceable. See also executory¹

6. (Classical Music) music

a. (of a cadence) proceeding to the dominant from the tonic, subdominant, or any chord other than the dominant

b. of or relating to all intervals other than the fourth, fifth, and octave. Compare perfect⁹

(Grammar) grammar

a. the imperfect tense

b. a verb in this tense

imˈperfectly adv

imˈperfectness n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

im•per•fect

(ɪmˈpɜr fɪkt)

adj.

1. of, pertaining to, or characterized by defects or weaknesses: imperfect vision.

2. lacking completeness: imperfect knowledge.

3. of or designating a verb tense or form typically indicating a habitual, repeated, or continuing action or state in the past or an action or state in progress at a point of reference in the past, as Spanish hablaban “they used to speak” or “they were speaking.”

4. not enforceable by law.

5. (of a flower) having either stamens or pistils; unisexual.

6. the imperfect tense.

7. a verb form in the imperfect tense.

[1300–50; Middle English imparfit < Middle French imparfait < Latin imperfectus unfinished]

im•per′fect•ly, adv.

im•per′fect•ness, n.

imperfect

Used to describe a verb form that expresses an uncompleted or ongoing action, as in “We were walking.”

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Noun	1.	imperfect - a tense of verbs used in describing action that is on-going continuous tense, imperfect tense, progressive, progressive tense tense - a grammatical category of verbs used to express distinctions of time present progressive, present progressive tense - a tense used to express action that is on-going at the time of utterance past progressive, past progressive tense - a progressive tense used to describe on-going action in the past; "`I had been running' is an example of the past progressive" future progressive, future progressive tense - a progressive tense used to express action that will be on-going in the future; "`I will be running' is an example of the future progressive"
Adj.	1.	imperfect - not perfect; defective or inadequate; "had only an imperfect understanding of his responsibilities"; "imperfect mortals"; "drainage here is imperfect" blemished - marred by imperfections broken - physically and forcibly separated into pieces or cracked or split; "a broken mirror"; "a broken tooth"; "a broken leg"; "his neck is broken" perfect - being complete of its kind and without defect or blemish; "a perfect circle"; "a perfect reproduction"; "perfect happiness"; "perfect manners"; "a perfect specimen"; "a perfect day"
	2.	imperfect - wanting in moral strength, courage, or will; having the attributes of man as opposed to e.g. divine beings; "I'm only a fallible human"; "frail humanity" fallible, frail, weak human - having human form or attributes as opposed to those of animals or divine beings; "human beings"; "the human body"; "human kindness"; "human frailty"

imperfect

adjective flawed, impaired, faulty, broken, limited, damaged, partial, unfinished, incomplete, defective, patchy, immature, deficient, rudimentary, sketchy, undeveloped, inexact We live in an imperfect world.
perfect, finished, complete, exact, flawless, developed

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

imperfect

adjective

Having a defect or defects:

defective, faulty.

Translations

غَير تامفيه عَيْب

imperfektnívadný

datidfejlbehæftetimperfektummangelfuld

Imperfekt unvollendet unvollkommen

ατελής

imperfecto

imparfait

folyamatos múlt idõtökéletlen

gallaîurólokiî horf í òátíî

imperfetto

eigos veikslasnetobulaisu defektu

ar defektiem/trūkumiemimperfektsnepabeigtsnepilnīgs

imperfektum preteritum ufullkommen

nedokonavý

bitmemiş eylem gösterenhatalıkusurlu

有缺陷的未完成体

imperfect

[ɪmˈpɜːfɪkt]

A. ADJ

1. (= faulty) [machine, product] → defectuoso; [hearing, vision] → deficiente; [understanding, world, method] → imperfecto; [knowledge] → incompleto, limitado; [reasoning] → deficiente, incorrecto

2. (Ling) [tense] → imperfecto

B. N (Ling) → imperfecto m
a verb in the imperfect → un verbo en imperfecto

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

imperfect

[ɪmˈpɜː^rfɪkt]

adj

[world, human being] → imparfait(e)
We live in an imperfect world → Nous vivons dans un monde imparfait.
We have to accept ourselves as imperfect human beings → Nous devons nous accepter comme des êtres imparfaits.

(= incomplete) [knowledge, understanding] → imparfait(e)

[tool, substitute] → imparfait(e)

[goods, merchandise] → présentant des imperfections
They sell slightly imperfect merchandise at low prices → Ils vendent à bas prix des marchandises présentant de légères imperfections.

n (also imperfect tense) → imparfait m
in the imperfect → à l'imparfait

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

imperfect

adj

(= faulty) → unvollkommen, mangelhaft; (Comm) goods → fehlerhaft

(= incomplete) → unvollständig, unvollkommen

(Gram) → Imperfekt-, Vergangenheits-; imperfect form → Imperfekt- or Vergangenheitsform f

n (Gram) → Imperfekt nt, → Vergangenheit f

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

imperfect

[ɪmˈpɜːfɪkt]

1. adj

a. (gen) → difettoso/a

b. (Gram) → imperfetto/a

2. n (Gram) (also imperfect tense) → imperfetto
in the imperfect → all'imperfetto

imperfect

(imˈpəːfikt) adjective

1. having a fault. This coat is being sold at half-price because it is imperfect.

2. (also noun) (a verb) of the tense expressing an action or state in the past which is not completed. The verb `go' in `I was going' is in the imperfect tense.

imˈperfectly adverb

ˌimperˈfection (-ˈfekʃən) noun

(the state of having) a fault or defect.

imperfect

n. tiempo imperfecto;

a. imperfecto-a; defectuoso-a.

References in classic literature ?

Between the purely physical rykor and the purely mental kaldane there was little choice; but in the happy medium of normal, and imperfect man, as she knew him, lay the most desirable state of existence.

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"Why," say they, "should we adopt an imperfect thing?

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The Republic, like the Phaedrus, is an imperfect whole; the higher light of philosophy breaks through the regularity of the Hellenic temple, which at last fades away into the heavens.

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She stood by a window, holding a book in close contiguity to her nose, as if with the hope of gaining an olfactory acquaintance with its contents, since her imperfect vision made it not very easy to read them.

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A pleasurable feeling of independence possessed him when he heard the glass doors swing to behind his back with a sort of imperfect baffled thud.

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The curtain of our imperfect drama must fall, to rise upon another scene.

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It was nearly six o'clock, but only grey imperfect misty dawn, when we drew nigh the wharf.

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I believe, had I stayed there very long, I should have become purblind, and that would have been a great misfortune, for I have heard men say that a stone-blind horse was safer to drive than one which had imperfect sight, as it generally makes them very timid.

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The state is possible only because men have common aspirations, but government, and political power, the existence of officials who are given authority to act in the name of the whole state, are necessary because men's community is imperfect, because man's social nature expresses itself in conflicting ways, in the clash of interests, the rivalry of parties, and the struggle of classes, instead of in the united seeking after a common good.

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This world, the eternally imperfect, an eternal contradiction's image and imperfect image--an intoxicating joy to its imperfect creator:--thus did the world once seem to me.

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At either end of the scale are notes that stir no chord of that imperfect instrument, the human ear.

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I was a youngster then, and suffering from weariness, cold, and imperfect oilskins which let water in at every seam.