flawless

What it means

1. Without flaws, defects, or shortcomings; perfect.

   The pianist’s performance this evening was flawless.

   5 more examples

   [W]hen I write of Sacred ſubjects, I had rather a Book of mine ſhould reſemble the Moon, which, though ſhe be but Small, leſs Elevated, and full of Imperfections, lends yet an Uſeful Light to Men, and produces here and there a Motion that obeys a Heavenly Influence; than a Star of the Firſt Magnitude, which though more High, more Vaſt, and more Flawleſs, ſhines only bright enough to make it Self Conſpicuous.

   1663, Robert Boyle, “To the Earl of Orrery, One of the Lords Justices of the Kingdom of Ireland, Lord President of the Province of Mounster, &c.”, in Some Considerations Touching the Style of the H[oly] Scriptures. […], London: […] Henry Herringman, […], →OCLC

   Dr. Peyton, a principal physician, and rich in all the attributes that go to constitute high and flawless character, did all that educated judgment and trained skill could do for Henry; but, as the newspapers had said in the beginning, his hurts were past help.

   1883, Mark Twain [pseudonym; Samuel Langhorne Clemens], “A Catastrophe”, in Life on the Mississippi, Boston, Mass.: James R[ipley] Osgood and Company, →OCLC, page 245

   Not a single cloud mars the flawless azure; / Not a shadow moves o'er the moveless crops; [...]

   1889, Mathilde Blind, “[Poems of the Open Air.] Reapers.”, in The Ascent of Man, London: Chatto & Windus, […], →OCLC, page 140

   Then he carefully examined the trunk, going over it with a magnifying glass. He found it intact: the steel bands were flawless; the whole trunk was compact into unity.

   1911, Bram Stoker, “The Chest Opened”, in The Lair of the White Worm, London: William Rider and Son, […], →OCLC, page 114

   I'm confident our military is ready to fulfill this mission today. Our troops continue to execute complex and dangerous missions far from home with flawless precision, as we've just seen in the Persian Gulf. Our challenge is to retain the ability to do this as we carry out our entire defense strategy.

   1999 January 2, William J[efferson] Clinton, “The President’s Radio Address”, in William J. Clinton: 1999 (In Two Books) (Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States), book I (January 1 to June 30, 1999), Washington, D.C.: Office of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration; United States Government Printing Office, published 2000, →OCLC, page 1

   Synonyms: faultless, impeccable, indefectible, faultless, ideal, immaculate, impeccable, infallible · Antonyms: flawed, flawful

In a sentence

The pianist’s performance this evening was flawless.

Where it comes from

From flaw + -less (suffix meaning ‘without (something)’).