imperfect

[im-pur-fikt]

adjective

1. relating to or characterized by defects or weaknesses.

   With my imperfect vision I couldn’t make out the street name.

   Synonyms: faulty, defective

2. not perfect; lacking completeness.

   Human knowledge on all subjects is imperfect.

   Synonyms: immature, underdeveloped, incomplete
   Antonyms: complete

3. Grammar.,  designating a verb aspect, tense, or other verb category used to express an action or state still in process at some point of reference in time, especially in the past.

4. Law.,  being without legal effect or support; unenforceable.

5. Botany.,  (of a flower) diclinous.

6. Music.,  of or relating to the interval of a major or minor third or sixth.

noun

Grammar.

1. 1. in some languages, a verb aspect, tense, or other verb category used to express an action or state still in process at some point of reference in time, especially in the past.

   2. an instance or form of a specific verb in such an aspect, tense, or construction, such as Latin portābam “I was carrying.”

imperfect

/ ɪmˈpɜːfɪkt /

adjective

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

2. not complete or finished; deficient

3. botany

   1. (of flowers) lacking functional stamens or pistils

   2. (of fungi) not undergoing sexual reproduction

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

6. music

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

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

noun

1. grammar

   1. the imperfect tense

   2. a verb in this tense

Other Word Forms

• imperfectness noun
• imperfectly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of imperfect¹

First recorded in 1300–50; from Latin imperfectus “unfinished”; equivalent to im- ² + perfect; replacing Middle English imparfit, from Middle French imparfait, from Latin, as above

Example Sentences

It identifies complex similarities between photos, and has been shown to be extremely reliable in tests, even on imperfect images.

From BBC

In an email sent the afternoon before the leak became public, one ICO staff member said their justification for not fining the government was still an "imperfect answer".

From BBC

“I have continued to try to do the same kind of thing every time, which is write an authentic love story about two imperfect people,” Henry said.

From Los Angeles Times

Moreover, thanks to the resignation of President Richard Nixon and post-Watergate reforms, the Justice Department holds the notable, even if imperfect, distinction of being independent and apolitical.

From Salon

“When you have an imperfect system on which people’s lives depend, things will go wrong.”

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• immature 
• incomplete 
• inexact 
• rudimentary 
• sketchy 
• warped