imperfection

/ˌˈɪmpərˌfɛkʃən/

/ɪmpəˈfɛkʃən/

Other forms: imperfections

An imperfection is a detail that makes something (or someone) less than perfect. A tiny crack in your otherwise flawless Ming vase might be its only imperfection.

In addition to a blemish or defect, imperfection can also mean "the general state of not being perfect." For example, you could say, "Yeah, my dog is funny-looking, but her imperfection is part of what I love about her." The Latin imperfectus is at the root of imperfection, meaning "unfinished, incomplete, or immature," a combination of im-, "not," and perfectus, "finished or complete."

Definitions of imperfection

1. noun

   the state or an instance of being imperfect
   synonyms: imperfectness

   antonyms:

   perfection

   the state of being without a flaw or defect

   types:

   failing, weakness

   a flaw or weak point

   flaw

   an imperfection in a plan or theory or legal document that causes it to fail or that reduces its effectiveness

   defect

   an imperfection in a bodily system

   defect, fault, flaw

   an imperfection in an object or machine

   wart

   an imperfection in someone or something that is suggestive of a wart (especially in smallness or unattractiveness)

   defectiveness, faultiness

   the state of being defective

   myelatelia

   any developmental defect of the spinal cord

   inadequacy, insufficiency

   a lack of competence

   fatigue

   used of materials (especially metals) in a weakened state caused by long stress

   flaw

   defect or weakness in a person's character

   blister

   a flaw on a surface resulting when an applied substance does not adhere (as an air bubble in a coat of paint)

   bug, glitch

   a fault or defect in a computer program, system, or machine

   hole

   a fault

   birth defect, congenital abnormality, congenital anomaly, congenital defect, congenital disorder

   a defect that is present at birth

   bugginess

   the state of having bugs

   lameness

   an imperfection or defectiveness

   sickness

   defectiveness or unsoundness

   type of:

   state

   the way something is with respect to its main attributes