Definition of "perfectionist" in English

noun

1. Someone who is unwilling to settle for anything that is not perfect or does not meet extremely high standards.

2. (philosophy, now rare) Someone who thinks that religious or moral perfection can be attained in this life.

3. (US, historical) One 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
   • For quotations using this term, see Citations:perfectionist.

2. (philosophy) Inclined or related to perfectionism.