adj · noun · 6 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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US:/pɚˈfɛk.ʃənɪst/
CMU ARPABET:P ER0 F EH1 K SH AH0 N AH0 S T
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
CMU ARPABET 2:P ER0 F EH1 K SH AH0 N IH0 S T
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
adj
Meaning 1
Demanding perfection; being a perfectionist; imposing overly high standards.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Examples
perfectionistic parents
For quotations using this term, see Citations:perfectionist.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
adj
Meaning 2
Inclined or related to perfectionism.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Topics: human-sciences, philosophy, sciences
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
Someone who is unwilling to settle for anything that is not perfect or does not meet extremely high standards.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
4
noun
Meaning 4
Someone who thinks that religious or moral perfection can be attained in this life.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: archaic
Topics: human-sciences, philosophy, sciences
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
5
noun
Meaning 5
One of the Bible Communists or Free-lovers, a small American sect founded by J. H. Noyes (1811-86), which settled at Oneida in 1848, holding that the gospel if accepted secures freedom from sin.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: US, historical
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
6
noun
Meaning 6
a person who is displeased by anything that does not meet very high standards
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: compulsive
History
Etymology
Etymology tree English perfection Proto-Indo-European *-id- Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-idyéti Proto-Hellenic *-íďďō Ancient Greek -ῐ́ζω (-ĭ́zō) Proto-Hellenic *-tās Ancient Greek -τής (-tḗs) Ancient Greek -ῐστής (-ĭstḗs)bor. Latin -istader. Old French -istebor. Middle English -ist English -ist English perfectionist From perfection + -ist.
Across languages
Translations
67 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Arabic:
كَمَالِيّ
(kamāliyy)
— inclined or related to perfectionism
Catalan:
perfeccionista
— inclined or related to perfectionism
Czech:
perfekcionistický
— inclined or related to perfectionism
Danish:
perfektionistisk
— inclined or related to perfectionism
Dutch:
perfectionistisch
— inclined or related to perfectionism
Finnish:
perfektionistinen
— inclined or related to perfectionism
French:
perfectionniste
— inclined or related to perfectionism
German:
perfektionistisch
— inclined or related to perfectionism
Hungarian:
maximalista
— inclined or related to perfectionism
Italian:
perfezionista
— inclined or related to perfectionism
Italian:
perfezionistico
— inclined or related to perfectionism
Polish:
perfekcjonistyczny
— inclined or related to perfectionism
Portuguese:
perfeccionista
— inclined or related to perfectionism
Romanian:
perfecționist
— inclined or related to perfectionism
Russian:
перфекциони́стский
(perfekcionístskij)
— inclined or related to perfectionism
Serbo-Croatian:
перфекционѝстичкӣ
— inclined or related to perfectionism
Serbo-Croatian:
perfekcionìstičkī
— inclined or related to perfectionism
Spanish:
perfeccionista
— inclined or related to perfectionism
Azerbaijani:
mükəmməliyyətçi
— person who does not settle for anything that is not perfect
Belarusian:
перфекцыяні́ст
(pjerfjekcyjaníst)
— person who does not settle for anything that is not perfect
Belarusian:
перфекцыяні́стка
(pjerfjekcyjanístka)
— person who does not settle for anything that is not perfect
Catalan:
perfeccionista
— person who does not settle for anything that is not perfect
Chinese Mandarin:
完美主義者 /完美主义者
(wánměi zhǔyì zhě)
— person who does not settle for anything that is not perfect
Czech:
perfekcionista
— person who does not settle for anything that is not perfect
Czech:
perfekcionistka
— person who does not settle for anything that is not perfect
Danish:
perfektionist
— person who does not settle for anything that is not perfect
Dutch:
perfectionist
— person who does not settle for anything that is not perfect
Dutch:
perfectioniste
— person who does not settle for anything that is not perfect
Estonian:
perfektsionist
— person who does not settle for anything that is not perfect
Estonian:
täiuslikkuseihaleja
— person who does not settle for anything that is not perfect
Finnish:
perfektionisti
— person who does not settle for anything that is not perfect
French:
perfectionniste
— person who does not settle for anything that is not perfect
German:
Perfektionist
— person who does not settle for anything that is not perfect
German:
Perfektionistin
— person who does not settle for anything that is not perfect
Greek:
τελειομανής
(teleiomanís)
— person who does not settle for anything that is not perfect
Greek:
τελειοθήρας
(teleiothíras)
— person who does not settle for anything that is not perfect
Hungarian:
maximalista
— person who does not settle for anything that is not perfect
Icelandic:
fullkomnunarsinni
— person who does not settle for anything that is not perfect
Italian:
perfezionista
— person who does not settle for anything that is not perfect
Japanese:
完全主義者
(kanzenshugisha)
— person who does not settle for anything that is not perfect
Japanese:
完璧主義者
(kanpekishugisha)
— person who does not settle for anything that is not perfect
Kannada:
ಪರಿಪೂರ್ಣತಾವಾದಿ
(paripūrṇatāvādi)
— person who does not settle for anything that is not perfect
Kannada:
ಪರಿ ಪೂರ್ಣತಾಕಾಂಕ್ಷಿ
(pari pūrṇatākāṅkṣi)
— person who does not settle for anything that is not perfect
Kannada:
ಪರಿಪೂರ್ಣತಾನ್ವೇಷಕ
(paripūrṇatānvēṣaka)
— person who does not settle for anything that is not perfect
Korean:
완벽주의자
(wanbyeokjuuija)
— person who does not settle for anything that is not perfect
Malayalam:
പൂർണ്ണതാവാദി
(pūṟṇṇatāvādi)
— person who does not settle for anything that is not perfect
Norwegian Bokmål:
perfeksjonist
— person who does not settle for anything that is not perfect
Norwegian Nynorsk:
perfeksjonist
— person who does not settle for anything that is not perfect
Polish:
perfekcjonista
— person who does not settle for anything that is not perfect
Polish:
perfekcjonistka
— person who does not settle for anything that is not perfect
Portuguese:
perfeccionista
— person who does not settle for anything that is not perfect
Romanian:
perfecționist
— person who does not settle for anything that is not perfect
Romanian:
perfecționistă
— person who does not settle for anything that is not perfect
Russian:
перфекциони́ст
(perfekcioníst)
— person who does not settle for anything that is not perfect
Russian:
перфекциони́стка
(perfekcionístka)
— person who does not settle for anything that is not perfect
Serbo-Croatian:
перфекцио̀нист
— person who does not settle for anything that is not perfect
Serbo-Croatian:
перфекцио̀нистица
— person who does not settle for anything that is not perfect
Serbo-Croatian:
perfekciònist
— person who does not settle for anything that is not perfect
Serbo-Croatian:
perfekciònistica
— person who does not settle for anything that is not perfect
Slovak:
perfekcionista
— person who does not settle for anything that is not perfect
Slovak:
perfekcionistka
— person who does not settle for anything that is not perfect
Spanish:
perfeccionista
— person who does not settle for anything that is not perfect
Swedish:
perfektionist
— person who does not settle for anything that is not perfect
Tagalog:
perpeksiyonista
— person who does not settle for anything that is not perfect
Turkish:
mükemmeliyetçi
— person who does not settle for anything that is not perfect
Ukrainian:
перфекціоні́ст
(perfekcioníst)
— person who does not settle for anything that is not perfect
Ukrainian:
перфекціоні́стка
(perfekcionístka)
— person who does not settle for anything that is not perfect
