Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To finish or complete so as to leave nothing wanting; bring to completion or perfection: as, to perfect a picture or a statue.
  • To make perfect; instruct fully; make fully informed or skilled: as, to perfect one's self in the principles of architecture; to perfect soldiers in discipline.
  • Synonyms To accomplish, consummate.
  • In the Echinodermata, having the entire series of ambulacral plates perforated from pole to pole, that is, from base to summit of corona.
  • Brought to a consummation; fully finished; carried through to completion in every detail; finished in every part; completed.
  • Full; whole; entire; complete; existing in the widest extent or highest degree.
  • In botany, having both stamens and pistils; hermaphrodite: said of a flower, also of a whole plant, as opposed to monæcious, diæcious, etc.
  • Without blemish or defect; lacking in nothing; of the best, highest, or most complete type; exact or unquestionable in every particular: as, a perfect likeness; one perfect but many imperfect specimens; a perfect face; specifically, complete in moral excellence; entirely good.
  • Sound; of sound mind; sane.
  • Completely skilled; thoroughly trained or efficient: as, perfect in discipline. Compare letter-perfect.
  • Completely effective; satisfactory in every respect.
  • Quite certain; assured.
  • Entire; out and out; utter; very great: as, a perfect horror of serpents; a perfect shower of brickbats met them; a perfect stranger.
  • In music: Of an interval, melodic or harmonic, belonging to the first and simplest group of consonances, that in which inversion does not change the character of the interval: as, a perfect unison, octave, fifth, or fourth: opposed to imperfect, diminished, augmented. These intervals are now often also called major.
  • Of a chord, cadence, or period, complete; fully satisfactory. Thus, a perfect chord or triad is a triad, major or minor, in its original position; a perfect cadence is a simple authentic or plagal cadence; and a perfect period is one that is fully balanced or filled out.
  • In medieval music, of rhythm, time, or measure, triple. See measure
  • Synonyms Faultless, blameless, unblemished, holy.
  • noun In grammar, the perfect tense. See above.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun The perfect tense, or a form in that tense.
  • transitive verb To make perfect; to finish or complete, so as to leave nothing wanting; to give to anything all that is requisite to its nature and kind.
  • transitive verb (Print.) a press in which the printing on both sides of the paper is completed in one passage through the machine.
  • adjective Brought to consummation or completeness; completed; not defective nor redundant; having all the properties or qualities requisite to its nature and kind; without flaw, fault, or blemish; without error; mature; whole; pure; sound; right; correct.
  • adjective Well informed; certain; sure.
  • adjective (Bot.) Hermaphrodite; having both stamens and pistils; -- said of flower.
  • adjective (Mus.) a complete and satisfactory close in harmony, as upon the tonic preceded by the dominant.
  • adjective (Mus.) a concord or union of sounds which is perfectly coalescent and agreeable to the ear, as the unison, octave, fifth, and fourth; a perfect consonance; a common chord in its original position of keynote, third, fifth, and octave.
  • adjective (Arith.) a number equal to the sum of all its divisors; as, 28, whose aliquot parts, or divisors, are 14, 7, 4, 2, 1. See Abundant number, under Abundant.
  • adjective (Gram.) a tense which expresses an act or state completed.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb transitive To make perfect; to improve or hone.
  • verb law To take an action, usually the filing of a document in the correct venue, that secures a legal right.
  • adjective Fitting its definition precisely.
  • adjective Having all of its parts in harmony with a common purpose.
  • adjective Thoroughly skilled or talented.
  • adjective Excellent and delightful in all respects.
  • adjective grammar Representing a completed action.
  • adjective biology Sexually mature and fully differentiated.
  • adjective botany Of flowers, having both male (stamens) and female (carpels) parts.
  • adjective analysis Of a set, that it is equal to its set of limit points, i.e. set A is perfect if A=A'.
  • adjective music describing an interval or any compound interval of a unison, octave, or fourths and fifths that are not tritones
  • adjective Made with equal parts of sweet and dry vermouth.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective being complete of its kind and without defect or blemish
  • verb make perfect or complete
  • noun a tense of verbs used in describing action that has been completed (sometimes regarded as perfective aspect)
  • adjective without qualification; used informally as (often pejorative) intensifiers
  • adjective precisely accurate or exact

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle English perfit, from Old French parfit (modern: parfait), from Latin perfectus, perfect passive participle of perficere ("to finish"), from per- ("through, thorough") + facere ("to do, to make").

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From perfect (adjective) or from Latin perfectus

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Examples

Comments

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  • "Be a good boy

    Push a little farther now

    That wasn't fast enough

    To make us happy

    We'll love you just the way you are

    if you're perfect"

    January 10, 2007

  • I love Alanis's lyrics.

    May 9, 2007

  • Since when is "bisexual" a synonym for "perfect"? That listing is bizarre.

    Can you imagine exclaiming "Oh! Bisexual!" every time something is perfect?

    April 12, 2011

  • You're looking at a list of definitions, not synonyms. And yes, I can actually imagine exclaiming "Oh! Bisexual!" every time something is perfect. I think it would be funny - although I'm sure the novelty would wear off.

    April 12, 2011

  • I can see problems. Like a gymnast coming in with a bisexual 10 on the pommel horse and then being disqualified under gender rules.

    April 13, 2011

  • I think it refers to bisexual in a botanical sense, i.e. monœcious.

    April 13, 2011

  • Used in the Same Context

    Time · accidental · active · aorist · beautiful · cattle · certainty

    April 13, 2011

  • For another example, see ulna.

    April 19, 2011

  • Anyone else notice how the word 'perfect' is taking over the world? Instead of yes, ok, thanks, or any acknowledgement of any kind, the answer is now 'perfect'. A luxury hotel chain needs to trademark this word immediately.

    May 21, 2011

  • On a positive note, the use of absolutely in such contexts appears to have withered.

    May 22, 2011

  • But do people now say "Per-fuckin-fect!"?

    *not sorry that I'm a little out of it*

    May 22, 2011

  • There's an unwritten rule in English that when you insert an expletive into another word, it must precede a stressed syllable. So, for example, you can talk about "Phila-fuckin'-delphia", because "del" is a stressed syllable, but you cannot talk about "Philadel-fuckin'-phia", because "phi" is not a stressed syllable.

    So "Per-fuckin'-fect" is out. I think the closest permissible equivalent is "Fuckin' perfect!", which I do hear occasionally.

    May 22, 2011

  • But "Per-fuckin-fection!" might work, eh? Note the nice alliteration.

    May 22, 2011

  • I'm worried that people who are writing down unwritten rules are breaking an unwritten rule that unwritten rules should not be written.

    May 22, 2011

  • unrite of unright unwrite?? and its (positive and negative) variations, combinations and permutations. i.e. rite of right write

    May 22, 2011

  • Bilby beat me to my comment. Also, shouldn't that be per-pfucking-pfection?

    May 22, 2011

  • Foxy, that sounds like something Sylvester the Cat might say (or I am thinking of Daffy Duck?).

    *wonders if Fox is brushing up on his Deutsch*

    May 22, 2011

  • Wow, pterodactyl, that's true! You can say "fan-fucking-tastic" but "marv-fucking-elous" sounds weird.

    May 22, 2011

  • You meant 'fan-fucking' right?

    May 22, 2011

  • "A luxury hotel chain needs to trademark this word immediately. "

    As in:

    Are you one of the power elite? Then think of the Sofitel Manhattan. Perfect for your next intimate rendezvous.

    May 22, 2011

  • Whoops, thanks, Joel. Edited.

    May 22, 2011

  • How 'bout "perfuct" ?

    I do love rolig's "Per-fuckin-fection". Gonna have to employ it at the very first opportunity. Perhaps after Mr dontcry's beer can chicken tonight...

    May 28, 2011

  • I've used 'perfuct' for years. Very satisfying!

    May 28, 2011