imperfection

[ im-per-fek-shuhn ]

noun

1. an imperfect detail; flaw:

   a law full of imperfections.

2. the quality or condition of being imperfect.

imperfection

/ ˌɪmpəˈfɛkʃən /

noun

1. the condition or quality of being imperfect
2. a fault or defect

Word History and Origins

Origin of imperfection¹

1350–1400; Middle English imperfeccio ( u ) n < Late Latin imperfectiōn- (stem of imperfectiō ) incompleteness. See im- ², perfection

Example Sentences

His societal wound, while not attributable to any physical imperfection, is more apparent — the lived truth of marginalization.

From Los Angeles Times

And because humans are both imperfect and able to recognize our own imperfection, on the handful of occasions when the principal process fails, we’ve set up redundancies and safeguards to address those failures as well.

From Slate

Now, when she hears students criticizing themselves or wanting to give up halfway through a word, she encourages them to embrace imperfection and revel in the thrill of learning something new — lessons she hopes they can apply to other parts of their lives, she said.

From New York Times

Embrace the beauty of imperfection by incorporating mismatched furniture, distressed finishes and handmade accents to add character and warmth to your space.

From Seattle Times

For a given shell, buckling initiates where the geometric imperfection is most severe, and since the spatial distribution of geometric imperfections is random, so is the location of the initial buckling zone.

From Science Daily

Related Words

• blemish
• defect
• deficiency
• failing
• fallibility
• foible
• frailty
• glitch
• inadequacy
• infirmity
• shortcoming
• weak point
• weakness