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To repair; to mend; esp. to patch in a clumsy or imperfect manner, as a garment; -- sometimes with up. Sick bodies . . . to be kept and botched up for a time. Robynson (More's Utopia).

Imperfectly spoken, as by a foreigner; as, broken English; imperfectly spoken on account of emotion; as, to say a few broken words at parting. Amidst the broken words and loud weeping of those grave senators. Macaulay. Broken ground. (a) (Mil.) Rough or uneven ground; as, the troops were retarded in their advance by br…

a pause before the end of a strain, which the performer may fill with a flight of fancy. Imperfect cadence. (Mus.) See under Imperfect.

Wanting a syllable at the end, or terminating in an imperfect foot; as, a catalectic verse.

To refer to or specify, as for support, proof, illustration, or confirmation. The imperfections which you have cited. Shak.

Any device in which an imperfectly conducting contact between pieces of metal or other conductors loosely resting against each other is materially improved in conductivity by the influence of Hertzian waves; -- so called by Sir O. J. Lodge in 1894 on the assumption that the impact of the electic waves caused the loosel…

An imperfection caused by such insufficient welding.

rmerly used as an instrument of punishment in the navy. Ham. Nav. Encyc. Colt's tooth, an imperfect or superfluous tooth in young horses. -- To cast one's colt's tooth, to cease from youthful wantonness. "Your colt's tooth is not cast yet." Shak. -- To have a colt's tooth, to be wanton. Chaucer.

That, in an imperfectly good persons, which renders it suitable for God to bestow on him gifts of grace.

nce, conformable to truth, rectitude, or propriety, or to a just standard; nnot faulty or imperfect; free from error; as, correct behavior; correct views. Always use the most correct editions. Felton.

a screen; disguise; a cloack. "Under cover of the night." Macualay. A hendsome cover for imperfections. Collier.

Pertaining to twilight; glimmering; hence, imperfectly clear or luminous. This semihistorical and crepuscular period. Sir G. C. Lewis.

Imperfectly crystallized; as, granite is only crystalline, while quartz crystal is perfectlly crystallized.

t in physical, intellectual, or moral condition; refinement; culture. Italy . . . was but imperfectly reduced to cultivation before the irruption of the barbarians. Hallam.

ed blue in its surface, arising usually from a malformation of the heart, which causes an imperfect arterialization of the blood; blue jaundice.

With imperfect light, clearness, or knowledge; obscurely; dimly; blindly; uncertainly. What fame to future times conveys but darkly down. Dryden. so softly dark and darkly pure. Byron.

bright and glaring colors, the vulgar admire it is an excellent piece. I. Watts. A lame, imperfect piece, rudely daubed over. Dryden.

tes are still so called, even when, by artificial methods, they have been taught to speak imperfectly.

To pass gradually from a sound, prosperous, or perfect state, to one of imperfection, adversity, or dissolution; to waste away; to decline; to fail; to become weak, corrupt, or disintegrated; to rot; to perish; as, a tree decays; fortunes decay; hopes decay. Ill fares the land, to hastening ills a prey, Where wealth ac…

Failing; fault; imperfection, whether physical or moral; blemish; as, a defect in the ear or eye; a defect in timber or iron; a defect of memory or judgment. Trust not yourself; but, your defects to know, Make use of every friend -- any every foe. Pope. Among boys little tenderness is shown to personal defects. Macaula…