perfectionist
/pɚˈfɛk.ʃənɪst/noun, adjective
perfectionist is spelled P-E-R-F-E-C-T-I-O-N-I-S-T: 13 letters and 4 syllables. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 33,236th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, perfectionist means “Someone who is unwilling to settle for anything that is not perfect or does not meet extremely high standards” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of perfectionist is perfectionists.
How many letters and syllables are in perfectionist?
| Letters | 13: P-E-R-F-E-C-T-I-O-N-I-S-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 33,236th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is perfectionist?
Perfectionist appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 33,236th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce perfectionist?
- US /pɚˈfɛk.ʃənɪst/
Perfectionist has 4 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-perfectionist.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of perfectionist
- perfectionists plural
- more perfectionist comparative
- most perfectionist superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does perfectionist mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Someone who is unwilling to settle for anything that is not perfect or does not meet extremely high standards.
- 2
archaicSomeone who thinks that religious or moral perfection can be attained in this life.
- 3
USOne 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.
adjective
- 1
Demanding perfection; being a perfectionist; imposing overly high standards.
perfectionistic parents
- 2
Inclined or related to perfectionism.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Perfectionist in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | perfectionniste |
| German | Perfektionist, Perfektionistin , perfektionistisch |
| Portuguese | perfeccionista |
| Spanish | perfeccionista |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does perfectionist come from?
From perfection + -ist.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).