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perfectionism

UK/pəˈfɛk.ʃ(ə).nɪ.z(ə)m/US/pɚˈfɛk.ʃə.nɪ.zm̩/
nounB2+Rare in speech; mostly a word you read · #14,233 of 15,258leans written

Perfectionism is insisting on a standard nobody could hold. Crippling perfectionism, a streak of perfectionism, perfectionism and delay.

It is often presented as a strength in interviews and is in fact strongly associated with anxiety and with not finishing things at all. The distinction that matters is between high standards and a fear of falling short.

Columbia Pictures (Q186941) · Public domain

Definitions of perfectionism

  1. 1nounperfectionismInsisting on a standard nobody could hold.B2+

    “Her perfectionism meant she rewrote the same essay five times and still handed it in late.”

perfectionism is a tendency.

Where it comes from

  1. Latin

    perfectiō

  2. Old French

    perfection

  3. Middle English

    perfeccioun

  4. English

    perfection

  5. English, today

    perfectionism

From perfection + -ism. perfection comes from Middle English perfeccioun, from Old French perfection, from Latin perfectiō. by surface analysis, perfect + -ion. Displaced native fulfremednes.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in Mental Health & Wellbeing

Practise this word

perfectionism in the wild

  • In ethics and value theory, perfectionism is the persistence of will in obtaining the optimal quality of spiritual, mental, physical, and material being.

    Perfectionism (philosophy)

  • Thomas Hurka describes perfectionism as follows: This moral theory starts from an account of the good life, or the intrinsically desirable life.

    Perfectionism (philosophy)

  • During the 1960s Brinsmead advocated a form of perfectionism which he described as the " Awakening" message.

    Robert Brinsmead

  • While his work is noted for its quality and beauty, his perfectionism and constant reworking of his paintings meant that his extant output is sparse.

    Pietro Bianchi (painter)

  • Anthony Gene Tetro, known as Tony Tetro, is an art forger known for his perfectionism in copies of artwork produced in the 1970s and 1980s.

    Tony Tetro

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

Related words

the perfectiō family

perfection

perfectionism — used about once every 41,009 pages · #14,233 · point at the bar for the others

  • perfect
  • imperfect