Phrase guide

perfect tense

noun · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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No pronunciation record was provided for this word.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A verb form indicating that an action or state has been completed at the present time, in the past, or shall be completed in the future.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

A verb form indicating that an action or state has been completed at the present time, in the past, or shall be completed in the future.

Often, specifically, the present perfect tense as distinguished from the past perfect and future perfect tenses.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

a tense of verbs used in describing action that has been completed (sometimes regarded as perfective aspect)

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: perfective, perfective tense, perfect

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: tense

Narrower terms: present perfect, present perfect tense, past perfect, past perfect tense, pluperfect, pluperfect tense, future perfect, future perfect tense

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

19 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Armenian: կատարյալ (kataryal) — verb form indicating that an action has been completed
  • Bulgarian: свърше́но вре́ме (svǎršéno vréme) — verb form indicating that an action has been completed
  • Bulgarian: аори́ст (aoríst) — verb form indicating that an action has been completed
  • Chinese Mandarin: 完成時態 /完成时态 (wánchéng shítài) — verb form indicating that an action has been completed
  • Danish: førnutid — verb form indicating that an action has been completed
  • Danish: perfektum — verb form indicating that an action has been completed
  • Finnish: perfektimuoto — verb form indicating that an action has been completed
  • Greek: παρακείμενος (parakeímenos) — verb form indicating that an action has been completed
  • Italian: perfetto — verb form indicating that an action has been completed
  • Japanese: 完了形 (kanryō-kei) — verb form indicating that an action has been completed
  • Latin: perfectum — verb form indicating that an action has been completed
  • Norman: parfait — verb form indicating that an action has been completed
  • Norwegian: perfektum — verb form indicating that an action has been completed
  • Norwegian: andre futurum — verb form indicating that an action has been completed
  • Persian: نقلی (naqli) — verb form indicating that an action has been completed
  • Portuguese: perfeito — verb form indicating that an action has been completed
  • Russian: соверше́нное вре́мя (soveršénnoje vrémja) — verb form indicating that an action has been completed
  • Russian: перфе́кт (perfékt) — verb form indicating that an action has been completed
  • Slovak: perfektum — verb form indicating that an action has been completed