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perfectibility

American  
[per-fekt-uh-bil-i-tee] / pərˌfɛkt əˈbɪl ɪ ti /

noun

  1. the quality or state of being able to be made perfect or free of defects.

  2. the quality or state of being able to be improved.


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Johnson’s faith in human perfectibility, he told me, inspired him to work to regain his strength.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 5, 2024

The title of the book comes from a quote by John Locke — “Wherever law ends, tyranny begins” — and Weissmann’s suggested solutions reflect his own faith in the perfectibility of institutions.

From New York Times • Sep. 21, 2020

Wealthy and well-educated colonists embraced the ideas of the European Enlightenment, which honored science and reason and stressed the perfectibility of human nature.

From Textbooks • Jan. 18, 2018

“In American history, women have been perceived to reach their height of moral perfectibility when they’re pregnant and mothering,” Cramer said.

From Washington Post • Jul. 13, 2016

Encoded in that molecule were the loci of human perfectibility and vulnerability: once we learned to manipulate this chemical, we would rewrite our nature.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee