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A quality, endowment, or acquirement completely excellent; an ideal faultlessness; especially, the divine attribute of complete excellence. Shak. What tongue can her perfections tell Sir P. Sidney. To perfection, in the highest degree of excellence; perfectly; as, to imitate a model to perfection.

In a perfect manner or degree; in or to perfection; completely; wholly; throughly; faultlessly. "Perfectly divine." Milton. As many as touched were made perfectly whole. Matt. xiv. 36.

Little; trifling; inconsiderable; also, inferior; subordinate; as, a petty fault; a petty prince. Denham. Like a petty god I walked about, admired of all. Milton. Petty averages. See under Average. -- Petty cash, money expended or received in small items or amounts. -- Petty officer, a subofficer in the navy, as a gu…

s. Gower. The wretch whom avarice bids to pinch and spare. Franklin. To pinch at, to find fault with; to take exception to. [Obs.] Chaucer.

he rights of ambassadors. Spenser. I will neither plead my age nor sickness, in excuse of faults. Dryden.

To give a pronunciation; to articulate; as, to pronounce faultlessly. Earle.

mmetry or suitableness, as the parts of the body. Nature had proportioned her without any fault. Sir P. Sidney.

y, or suppliant posture. Prostrate fall Before him reverent, and there confess Humbly our faults. Milton.

the particulars of it, and showing that any damage or loss sustained was not owing to the fault of the vessel, her officers or crew, but to the perils of the sea, etc., ads the case may be, and protesting against them.

To impose a penalty upon; to afflict with pain, loss, or suffering for a crime or fault, either with or without a view to the offender's amendment; to cause to suffer in retribution; to chasten; as, to punish traitors with death; a father punishes his child for willful disobedience. A greater power Now ruled him, punis…

our accent is Something finer than you could purchase in so removed a dwelling. Shak. His faults . . . hereditary Rather than purchased. Shak.

To find fault; to cavil; as, to quarrel with one's lot. I will not quarrel with a slight mistake. Roscommon.

Apt to find fault; habitually complaining; disposed to murmur; as, a querulous man or people. Enmity can hardly be more annoying that querulous, jealous, exacting fondness. Macaulay.

extreme; gross; utter; as, rank heresy. "Rank nonsense." Hare. "I do forgive thy rankest fault." Shak.

To return one charge or accusation with another; to chargeback fault or crime upon an accuser. It is not my business to recriminate, hoping sufficiently toBp. Stillingfleet.

Of or pertaining to redhibition; as, a redhibitory action or fault.

A member of a volunteer committee which, in default of the lawful authority, undertakes to preserve order and prevent crimes; also, sometimes, one of a band organized for the comission of violent crimes. [U.S.] A few stood neutral, or declared in favor of the Regulators. Bancroft.

peating; a doing or saying again; iteration. I need not be barren of accusations; he hath faults, with surplus to tire in repetition. Shak.

prove or reprimand with a view of restraining, checking, or preventing; to make charge of fault against; to disapprove of; to chide; to blame; to censure. Chaucer. Aristippus being reprehended of luxury by one that was not rich, for that he gave six crowns for a small fish. Bacon. Pardon me for reprehending thee. Shak.…

To reprove severely; to reprehend; to chide for a fault; to consure formally. Germanicus was severely reprimanded by Tiberius for traveling into Egypt without his permission. Arbuthnot.