Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A propensity for being displeased with anything that is not perfect or does not meet extremely high standards.
  • noun A belief in certain religions that moral or spiritual perfection can be achieved before the soul has passed into the afterlife.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The belief that a sinless life is attainable.
  • noun The belief and system of the Perfectionists of the Oneida Community (which see, under community).

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun The doctrine of the Perfectionists.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A dislike for anything less than perfection
  • noun A belief that spiritual perfection may be achieved during life, or that it should be striven for

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a disposition to feel that anything less than perfect is unacceptable

Etymologies

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Examples

  • The term perfectionism is probably not even one that should be used in a Christian context.

    internetmonk.com 2009

  • The term perfectionism is probably not even one that should be used in a Christian context.

    internetmonk.com 2009

  • Here, my perfectionism is my own enemy -- playing very well becomes more important than enjoying playing.

    Archive 2008-02-01 SVGL 2008

  • Presenting the unfinished work of somebody whose reputation rests in no small part on her perfectionism is a pretty daunting task.

    Paper Trail 2006

  • Presenting the unfinished work of somebody whose reputation rests in no small part on her perfectionism is a pretty daunting task.

    Paper Trail 2006

  • Presenting the unfinished work of somebody whose reputation rests in no small part on her perfectionism is a pretty daunting task.

    Paper Trail 2006

  • "They live with fear and insecurity and an illusion that they can have control over other people or that they can attain perfectionism, but it's really not possible," says Christopher Knippers, Ph. D., clinical psychologist at Pacific Coast Recovery in Laguna Beach, Calif.

    Tame Your Inner Control Freak Lori Murray 2010

  • Thanks for sharing your wisdom here, especially about how perfectionism is a “coping mechanism for unpredictability.”

    5 Battle Strategies for Winning the War on Perfectionism | Write to Done 2010

  • Your inner perfectionist will tell you that anything less than full, unbridled perfectionism is lazy, unacceptable and just plain wrong.

    5 Battle Strategies for Winning the War on Perfectionism | Write to Done 2010

  • But, as I reflect 2009, I begin to find a theme: perfectionism is getting in the way of my life.

    Archive 2010-01-01 Sarah Lenz 2010

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