The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Imperfect \Im*per"fect\, a. [L. imperfectus: pref. im- not +
perfectus perfect: cf. F imparfait, whence OE. imparfit. See
Perfect.]
1. Not perfect; not complete in all its parts; wanting a
part; deective; deficient.
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Something he left imperfect in the state. --Shak.
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Why, then, your other senses grow imperfect. --Shak.
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2. Wanting in some elementary organ that is essential to
successful or normal activity.
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He . . . stammered like a child, or an amazed,
imperfect person. --Jer. Taylor.
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3. Not fulfilling its design; not realizing an ideal; not
conformed to a standard or rule; not satisfying the taste
or conscience; esthetically or morally defective.
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Nothing imperfect or deficient left
Of all that he created. --Milton.
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Then say not man's imperfect, Heaven in fault;
Say rather, man's as perfect as he ought. --Pope.
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Imperfect arch, an arch of less than a semicircle; a skew
arch.
Imperfect cadence (Mus.), one not ending with the tonic,
but with the dominant or some other chord; one not giving
complete rest; a half close.
Imperfect consonances (Mus.), chords like the third and
sixth, whose ratios are less simple than those of the
fifth and forth.
Imperfect flower (Bot.), a flower wanting either stamens or
pistils. --Gray.
Imperfect interval (Mus.), one a semitone less than
perfect; as, an imperfect fifth.
Imperfect number (Math.), a number either greater or less
than the sum of its several divisors; in the former case,
it is called also a defective number; in the latter, an
abundant number.
Imperfect obligations (Law), obligations as of charity or
gratitude, which cannot be enforced by law.
Imperfect power (Math.), a number which can not be produced
by taking any whole number or vulgar fraction, as a
factor, the number of times indicated by the power; thus,
9 is a perfect square, but an imperfect cube.
Imperfect tense (Gram.), a tense expressing past time and
incomplete action.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Cadence \Ca"dence\, n. [OE. cadence, cadens, LL. cadentia a
falling, fr. L. cadere to fall; cf. F. cadence, It. cadenza.
See Chance.]
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1. The act or state of declining or sinking. [Obs.]
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Now was the sun in western cadence low. --Milton.
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2. A fall of the voice in reading or speaking, especially at
the end of a sentence.
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3. A rhythmical modulation of the voice or of any sound; as,
music of bells in cadence sweet.
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Blustering winds, which all night long
Had roused the sea, now with hoarse cadence lull
Seafaring men o'erwatched. --Milton.
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The accents . . . were in passion's tenderest
cadence. --Sir W.
Scott.
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4. Rhythmical flow of language, in prose or verse.
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Golden cadence of poesy. --Shak.
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If in any composition much attention was paid to the
flow of the rhythm, it was said (at least in the
14th and 15th centuries) to be "prosed in faire
cadence." --Dr. Guest.
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5. (Her.) See Cadency.
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6. (Man.) Harmony and proportion in motions, as of a
well-managed horse.
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7. (Mil.) A uniform time and place in marching.
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8. (Mus.)
(a) The close or fall of a strain; the point of rest,
commonly reached by the immediate succession of the
tonic to the dominant chord.
(b) A cadenza, or closing embellishment; a pause before
the end of a strain, which the performer may fill with
a flight of fancy.
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Imperfect cadence. (Mus.) See under Imperfect.
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