Meanings
comparative more imperfectly · superlative most imperfectly
- In an imperfect manner or degree; not fully or completely.
We cannot look, however imperfectly, upon a great man, without gaining something by him.
1840 May 5, Thomas Carlyle, “Lecture I. The Hero as Divinity. Odin. Paganism: Scandinavian Mythology.”, in On Heroes, Hero-Worship and The Heroic in History, London: Chapman and Hall, […], published 1840, →OCLC, page 21 more example
Mrs. PAGE is gifted with a pleasing voice, which is yet imperfectly weeded of certain sharpnesses, but seems susceptible of a wide range of melodious inflection.
1861 June 14, “Amusements.”, in The New York Times
Synonyms & antonyms
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
From imperfect + -ly or im- + perfectly.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Catalan imperfectament
- imperfectamentin an imperfect manner
French imparfaitement
- imparfaitementin an imperfect manner
Polish niedoskonale
- niedoskonalein an imperfect manner
Portuguese imperfeitamente
- imperfeitamentein an imperfect manner
Spanish imperfectamente
- imperfectamentein an imperfect manner
Cite this entry
imperfectly. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/imperfectly
“imperfectly.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/imperfectly. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “imperfectly,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/imperfectly.
Source: imperfectly on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.