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ed to a standard or rule; not satisfying the taste or conscience; esthetically or morally defective. Nothing imperfect or deficient left Of all that he created. Milton. Then say not man's imperfect, Heaven in fault; Say rather, man's as perfect as he ought. Pope. Imperfect arch, an arch of less than a semicircle; a ske…

The quality or state of being inadequate or insufficient; defectiveness; insufficiency; inadequateness. The inadequacy and consequent inefficacy of the alleged causes. Dr. T. Dwight.

d up; not finished; not having all its parts, or not having them all adjusted; imperfect; defective. A most imperfect and incomplete divine. Milton.

The state of being incomplete; imperfectness; defectiveness. Boyle.

equate to any need, use, or purpose; as, the provisions are insufficient in quantity, and defective in quality. "Insufficient for His praise." Cowper.

den steps, for going aloft. R. H. Dana, Jr. (c) (Naut.) A succession of short cracks in a defective spar. -- Jacob's membrane. See Retina. -- Jacob's staff. (a) A name given to many forms of staff or weapon, especially in the Middle Ages; a pilgrim's staff. [Obs.] Spenser. (b) (Surveying) See under Staff.…

[1902-3 a. d.] was the first year of the 299th lunar cycle. The common year is said to be defective, regular, or perfect (or abundant) according as it has 353, 354, or 355 days. The leap year has an intercalary month, and a total of 383 (defective), 384 (regular), or 385 (perfect, or abundant) days. The calendar is com…

ing the loco weed and characterized by a slow, measured gait, high step, glassy eyes with defective vision, delirium, and gradual emaciation.

ase of the human body; a distemper, disorder, or indisposition, proceeding from impaired, defective, or morbid organic functions; especially, a lingering or deep-seated disorder. The maladies of the body may prove medicines to the mind. Buckminster.

To make defective; to do injury to, esp. by cutting off or defacing a part; to impair; to disfigure; to deface. I pray you mar no more trees with wiring love songs in their barks. Shak. But mirth is marred, and the good cheer is lost. Dryden. Ire, envy, and despair Which marred all his borrowed visage. Milton.…

Destitute of richness, fertility, strength, or the like; defective in quantity, or poor in quality; poor; barren; scanty in ideas; wanting strength of diction or affluence of imagery. "Meager soil." Dryden. Of secular habits and meager religious belief. I. Taylor. His education had been but meager. Motley.…

Defective flow or vitiated condition of the milk.

Mutilated; defective; imperfect. [Obs.]

Wrong; defective; faulty. [R.] Ayliffe.

Brought to consummation or completeness; completed; not defective nor redundant; having all the properties or qualities requisite to its nature and kind; without flaw, fault, or blemish; without error; mature; whole; pure; sound; right; correct. My strength is made perfect in weakness. 2 Cor. xii. 9. Three glorious sun…

at, or from, the origin or root; fundamentally; as, a scheme or system radically wrong or defective.

Amendment of what is defective, vicious, corrupt, or depraved; reformation; as, reform of elections; reform of government. Civil service reform. See under Civil. -- Reform acts (Eng. Politics), acts of Parliament passed in 1832, 1867, 1884, 1885, extending and equalizing popular representation in Parliament. -- Refor…

or right he had before; the restitution of one who obtains possession of property under a defective title, to his rights under some valid title by virtue of which he might legally have entered into possession only by suit. Bouvier.

To ordain again, as when the first ordination is considered defective. Bp. Burnet.

Not firm or trusty; unsound; defective; treacherous; unsafe; as, a rotten plank, bone, stone. "The deepness of the rotten way." Knolles. Rotten borough. See under Borough. -- Rotten stone (Min.), a soft stone, called also Tripoli (from the country from which it was formerly brought), used in all sorts of finer grindin…