Imperfect

How to spell imperfect

9 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce imperfect

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does imperfect mean?

1. adjectiveHaving faults, errors, or shortcomings; not perfect or complete.
2. adjectiveOf a verb tense expressing a past action that was ongoing or incomplete.

Imperfect in a sentence

• The discounted vase was sold as imperfect because of a small chip.

• The language teacher explained how the imperfect tense describes habitual past actions.

• Even an imperfect plan was better than no plan at all before the deadline.

• In Spanish the imperfect form is used for background description in a story.

Where does imperfect come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word comes from the Latin imperfectus, meaning 'unfinished' or 'incomplete', formed from the negative prefix in- (here softened to im- before the letter p, meaning 'not') and perfectus, the past participle of perficere, 'to complete or finish thoroughly'. That verb itself joined per-, meaning 'thoroughly', with facere, the everyday Latin verb 'to make or do', so the literal sense was 'not thoroughly made'. English took the word in during the 1300s by way of Old French imparfait, and the spelling was later reshaped to match the Latin original more closely, which is why we write per rather than par today. The same facere root quietly powers a huge family of English words, including 'perfect', 'factory', 'manufacture', and 'affect'. The spelling trap is mostly the silent doubling of meaning in im-: writers know the word means 'not perfect', so attaching im- cleanly to the familiar word 'perfect' is the reliable memory hook.

How the word is built

• im- (not)
• per- (thoroughly)
• fect (from facere: to make or do)
• (adjective)