Imperfeita

Imperfeita is the feminine form of the Portuguese adjective imperfeito, meaning imperfect, defective, or incomplete. It describes feminine nouns, for example: uma ideia imperfeita, uma peça imperfeita. The term conveys the sense that something has flaws, is not complete, or does not meet a standard of perfection. In everyday language, imperfeita is used to discuss defects, shortcomings, or partial states.

In grammar, imperfeito refers to the imperfect past tense in Portuguese, used to express ongoing or habitual past actions, or background situations. The feminine form imperfeita appears when the noun being described is feminine, as in: a forma imperfeita (the imperfect form) or a explicação imperfeita (the imperfect explanation). It is important to distinguish the adjective imperfeita from the linguistic label pretérito imperfeito, which names the tense itself rather than describing a noun.

Etymology and usage notes: imperfeita derives from Latin imperfectus, through Portuguese, retaining meanings related to incompleteness or lack of perfection. In addition to describing quality, imperfeita can be used in technical or evaluative contexts to indicate flaws in objects, processes, or arguments. Its antonyms include perfeita (perfect) and completA/completa (complete), depending on gender and number.

See also: imperfeito, imperfeição, perfeição.