Part 65

Shak.

Why, then, your other senses grow imperfect.

Shak.

2. Wanting in some elementary organ that is essential to successful or normal activity.

He . . . stammered like a child, or an amazed, imperfect person.

Jer. Taylor.

3. Not fulfilling its design; not realizing an ideal; not conformed to a standard or rule; not satisfying the taste or conscience; esthetically or morally defective.

Nothing imperfect or deficient left Of all that he created.

Milton.

Then say not man's imperfect, Heaven in fault; Say rather, man's as perfect as he ought.

Pope.

Imperfect arch, an arch of less than a semicircle; a skew arch. -- Imperfect cadence (Mus.), one not ending with the tonic, but with the dominant or some other chord; one not giving complete rest; a half close. -- Imperfect consonances (Mus.), chords like the third and sixth, whose ratios are less simple than those of the fifth and forth. -- Imperfect flower (Bot.), a flower wanting either stamens or pistils. Gray. -- Imperfect interval (Mus.), one a semitone less than perfect; as, an imperfect fifth. -- Imperfect number (Math.), a number either greater or less than the sum of its several divisors; in the former case, it is called also a defective number; in the latter, an abundant number. -- Imperfect obligations (Law), obligations as of charity or gratitude, which cannot be enforced by law. -- Imperfect power (Math.), a number which can not be produced by taking any whole number or vulgar fraction, as a factor, the number of times indicated by the power; thus, 9 is a perfect square, but an imperfect cube. -- Imperfect tense (Gram.), a tense expressing past time and incomplete action.

<! p. 735 !>

Im*per"fect (?), n. (Gram.) The imperfect tense; or the form of a verb denoting the imperfect tense.

Im*per"fect, v. t. To make imperfect. [Obs.]

Im`per*fec`ti*bil"i*ty (?), n. The state or quality of being imperfectible. [R.]

Im`per*fec"ti*ble (?), a. Incapable of being made perfect. [R.]

Im`per*fec"tion (?), n. [L. imperfectio: cf. F. imperfection. See Imperfect, a.] The quality or condition of being imperfect; want of perfection; incompleteness; deficiency; fault or blemish.

Sent to my account With all my imperfections on my head.

Shak.

Syn. -- Defect; deficiency; incompleteness; fault; failing; weakness; frailty; foible; blemish; vice.

Im*per"fect*ness, n. The state of being imperfect.

Im*per"fo*ra*ble (?), a. [See Imperforate.] Incapable of being perforated, or bored through.

||Im*per"fo*ra"ta (?), n. pl. [NL. See Imperforate.] (Zoöl.) A division ||of Foraminifera, including those in which the shell is not porous. || { Im*per"fo*rate (?), Im*per"fo*ra"ted (?), } a. [L. pref. im- not + perforatus, p. p. of perforate to perforate. See Perforate.] Not perforated; having no opening or aperture. Sir J. Banks.

Im*per`fo*ra"tion (?), n. [Cf. F. imperforation.] The state of being without perforation.

Im*pe"ri*al (?), a. [OE. emperial, OF. emperial, F. impérial, fr. L. imperialis, fr. imperium command, sovereignty, empire. See Empire.] 1. Of or pertaining to an empire, or to an emperor; as, an imperial government; imperial authority or edict.

The last That wore the imperial diadem of Rome.

Shak.