imperforate

American  

[im-pur-fer-it, -fuh-reyt] / ɪmˈpɜr fər ɪt, -fəˌreɪt /

adjective

1. Also imperforated not perforate; having no perforation.

2. Philately. (of a number of stamps joined together) lacking the perforations usually separating individual stamps.

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noun

1. an imperforate stamp.

imperforate British  

/ -ˌreɪt, ɪmˈpɜːfərɪt /

adjective

1. not perforated

2.  imperf.  (of a postage stamp) not provided with perforation or any other means of separation Compare perforate

3. anatomy (of a bodily part, such as the anus) without the normal opening

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Other Word Forms

• imperforation noun

Etymology

Origin of imperforate

First recorded in 1665–75; im- ² + perforate

Example Sentences

Yet the catalog value of the latter is $2.50 against 36 cents for the wove paper imperforate alone.

From Canada: Its Postage Stamps and Postal Stationery by Howes, Clifton Armstrong

It may also be occasioned by an imperforate hymen, in which case it must be cut open by a physician.

From The Ladies Book of Useful Information Compiled from many sources by Anonymous

Operations for Artificial Anus.—In children the condition known as imperforate anus may sometimes be remedied by exploratory operations in the perineum, guided by the protrusion caused by the distended intestine.

From A Manual of the Operations of Surgery For the Use of Senior Students, House Surgeons, and Junior Practitioners by Bell, Joseph

On the early imperforate stamps we find a similar postmark in black, but lettered "Gambia" above and "Unpaid" below.

From Gambia by Melville, Frederick John

It is a fact that he is "collected" like postage-stamps, though no published work of his has attained the price per copy of the imperforate twopenny Mauritius of 1847.

From George Cruikshank by Chesson, W. H.

Related Words

• flawless
• perfect
• unblemished
• unbroken
• unharmed
• unhurt
• unscathed
• untouched