Search Result for "imperfect tense":
Wordnet 3.0

NOUN (1)

1. a tense of verbs used in describing action that is on-going;
[syn: progressive, progressive tense, imperfect, imperfect tense, continuous tense]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Imperfect \Im*per"fect\, a. [L. imperfectus: pref. im- not + perfectus perfect: cf. F imparfait, whence OE. imparfit. See Perfect.] 1. Not perfect; not complete in all its parts; wanting a part; deective; deficient. [1913 Webster] Something he left imperfect in the state. --Shak. [1913 Webster] Why, then, your other senses grow imperfect. --Shak. [1913 Webster] 2. Wanting in some elementary organ that is essential to successful or normal activity. [1913 Webster] He . . . stammered like a child, or an amazed, imperfect person. --Jer. Taylor. [1913 Webster] 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. [1913 Webster] Nothing imperfect or deficient left Of all that he created. --Milton. [1913 Webster] Then say not man's imperfect, Heaven in fault; Say rather, man's as perfect as he ought. --Pope. [1913 Webster] 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. [1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

imperfect tense n 1: a tense of verbs used in describing action that is on-going [syn: progressive, progressive tense, imperfect, imperfect tense, continuous tense]