Meanings
plural pluperfect tenses
- grammarTense of a verb used when referring to something that happened before a past setting or the imperfect; formed in English by adding had before the past participle of a verb, or by adding had been before the present participle of the verb.
Synonyms: past perfect progressive, past perfect, past perfect tense
Synonyms & antonyms
nounTense of a verb used when referring to something that happened before a past setting or the imperfect; formed in English by adding had before the past participle of a verb, or by adding had been before the present participle of the verb.
More synonyms by meaning
nouna perfective tense used to express action completed in the past
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
From Latin plus (“more”) + perfectus (“perfect”).
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek ὑπερσυντέλικος
- ὑπερσυντέλικος (hupersuntélikos)tense
Bulgarian ми́нало предвари́телно вре́ме, плусквамперфе́кт
- ми́нало предвари́телно вре́ме (mínalo predvarítelno vréme)tense
- плусквамперфе́кт (pluskvamperfékt)tense
Catalan plusquamperfet
- plusquamperfettense
Chinese Mandarin 過去完成時 /过去完成时
- 過去完成時 /过去完成时 (guòqù wánchéngshí, guòqù wánchéng shí)tense
Czech plusquamperfektum
- plusquamperfektumtense
Dutch voltooid verleden tijd, plusquamperfectum
- voltooid verleden tijdtense
- plusquamperfectumtense
Esperanto pluskvamperfekto
- pluskvamperfektotense
Finnish pluskvamperfekti
- pluskvamperfektitense
French plus-que-parfait
- plus-que-parfaittense
German Plusquamperfekt, Vorvergangenheit
- Plusquamperfekttense
- Vorvergangenheittense
- vollendete Vergangenheittense
Greek υπερσυντέλικος
- υπερσυντέλικος (ypersyntélikos)tense
Hungarian régmúlt
- régmúlttense
Italian trapassato prossimo, trapassato
- trapassato prossimotense
- trapassatotense
- piuccheperfettotense
Japanese 大過去
- 大過去 (daikako)tense
Korean 과거완료
- 과거완료 (gwageowallyo)tense
Latin plusquamperfectum
- plusquamperfectumtense
Norwegian pluskvamperfektum
- pluskvamperfektumtense
Persian ماضی بعید
- ماضی بعید (mâzi-e ba'id)tense
Polish czas zaprzeszły
- czas zaprzeszłytense
Portuguese pretérito mais-que-perfeito, mais-que-perfeito
- pretérito mais-que-perfeitotense
- mais-que-perfeitotense
Romanian mai mult ca perfect
- mai mult ca perfecttense
Russian давнопроше́дшее вре́мя, предпроше́дшее вре́мя
- давнопроше́дшее вре́мя (davnoprošédšeje vrémja)tense
- предпроше́дшее вре́мя (predprošédšeje vrémja)tense
- плюсквамперфе́кт (pljuskvamperfékt)tense
Spanish pluscuamperfecto
- pluscuamperfectotense
Swedish pluskvamperfekt, pluskvamperfektum
- pluskvamperfekttense
- pluskvamperfektumtense
Ukrainian давномину́лий час, плюсквамперфе́кт
- давномину́лий час (davnomynúlyj čas)tense
- плюсквамперфе́кт (pljuskvamperfékt)tense
Cite this entry
pluperfect tense. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pluperfect%20tense
“pluperfect tense.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pluperfect%20tense. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “pluperfect tense,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pluperfect%20tense.
Source: pluperfect tense on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.