pluperfect
/pluˈpɝ.fɪkt/adjective, noun
pluperfect is spelled P-L-U-P-E-R-F-E-C-T: 10 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 15 million words in written English, the 117,098th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, pluperfect means “More than perfect, utterly perfect, ideal” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in pluperfect?
| Letters | 10: P-L-U-P-E-R-F-E-C-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 15 million words; the 117,098th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is pluperfect?
Pluperfect appears about once in every 15 million words in written English, the 117,098th 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 pluperfect?
- UK /pluːˈpɜː.fɪkt/
- US /pluˈpɝ.fɪkt/
Pluperfect has 3 syllables (counted from the pronunciation).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-pluperfect.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with pluperfect?
2 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as pluperfect from its last stressed vowel (/ɜɹfɪkt/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of pluperfect
- more pluperfect comparative
- most pluperfect superlative
- plpf.
- pluperfects plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does pluperfect mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
More than perfect, utterly perfect, ideal.
- 2
Pertaining to action completed before another action or event in the past, past perfect.
- 3
Being or relating to a certain type of graph that complies with a theorem ("pluperfect graph theorem") discovered by D. R. Fulkerson in 1970, satisfying even more constraints than a perfect graph.
- 4
Synonym of multiperfect.
- 5
informalUsed as an intensifier in various interjections.
What in the pluperfect hell is going on here?!
noun
- 1
The pluperfect tense, the past perfect.
- 2
A verb in this tense.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate pluperfect?
Wiktionary records one abbreviation of pluperfect: plpf..
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Pluperfect in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense verb in this tense:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | plus-que-parfait |
| German | Plusquamperfekt |
| Portuguese | pretérito mais-que-perfeito |
| Spanish | pluscuamperfecto |
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 pluperfect come from?
Shortening of plusquamperfect, from Latin plusquamperfectum (“more than perfect”), from plus (“more”) + quam (“than”) + perfectum, neuter singular of perfectus (“achieved; finished; perfected”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).