impeccable

English

Etymology

From Middle French impeccable, from Latin impeccabilis (“not liable to sin”), from im- (“not”) + peccare (“to err, to sin”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɪmˈpɛkəbəl/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Adjective

impeccable (comparative more impeccable, superlative most impeccable)

1. Perfect, without faults, flaws or errors

   He grew up in Norway, but he writes impeccable English.

   • 1821–1822, William Hazlitt, “(please specify the essay name)”, in Table-Talk; or, Original Essays, volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: John Warren; Henry Colburn and Co.:

     The only impeccable writers are those who never wrote.

2. Incapable of wrongdoing or sin; immaculate

   It was easy for James V to imprison Lady Glamis, but actually convicting her was far more difficult; her character was impeccable and she was highly respected by all who knew her.

Synonyms

• See Thesaurus:flawless

Derived terms

• impeccableness
• impeccably

Related terms

• peccable
• peccant

Translations

Perfect, having no faults, flaws or errors

Arabic: مَعْصُوم (maʕṣūm), كَامِل (kāmil) Bulgarian: безупречен (bg) (bezuprečen) Catalan: impecable (ca) Chinese: Mandarin: 無瑕 / 无瑕 (zh) (wúxiá), 無懈可擊 / 无懈可击 (zh) (wúxièkějī) Dutch: onberispelijk (nl) Finnish: virheetön (fi), moitteeton (fi) French: impeccable (fr) German: makellos (de), einwandfrei (de), tadellos (de), fehlerfrei (de) Greek: άψογος (el) (ápsogos), τέλειος (el) (téleios) Hungarian: kifogástalan (hu), hibátlan (hu) Icelandic: lýtalaus Italian: impeccabile (it) Macedonian: беспрекорен (besprekoren) Malayalam: കുറ്റമറ്റ (kuṟṟamaṟṟa) Polish: nieskazitelny (pl) Portuguese: impecável (pt) Russian: безупре́чный (ru) (bezupréčnyj), безукори́зненный (ru) (bezukoríznennyj) Slovene: brezhiben, popoln Spanish: impecable (es) Swedish: fläckfri (sv), oantastlig (sv) Ukrainian: бездоганний (uk) (bezdohannyj) Urdu: معصُوم (masoom), بے عیب (bay aib)

Incapable of wrongdoing or sin; immaculate

Arabic: مَعْصُوم (maʕṣūm) Bulgarian: безукорен (bg) (bezukoren) Catalan: impecable (ca) Dutch: zondeloos (nl) Finnish: nuhteeton (fi), rikkeetön (fi) French: impeccable (fr) German: unfehlbar (de), untadelig (de), makellos (de) Greek: αναμάρτητος (el) (anamártitos) Hungarian: makulátlan (hu), feddhetetlen (hu) Macedonian: непогрешлив (nepogrešliv), безгрешен (bezgrešen) Malayalam: കുറ്റമറ്റ (kuṟṟamaṟṟa) Polish: bezgrzeszny (pl) Russian: непогреши́мый (ru) (nepogrešímyj), безгре́шный (ru) (bezgréšnyj) Slovene: brezmadežen, brezhiben Spanish: impecable (es) Swedish: ofelbar (sv) Ukrainian: безгрішний (uk) m (bezhrišnyj), непорочний m (neporočnyj) Urdu: معصُوم (masoom)

Further reading

• “impeccable”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “impeccable”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.
• “impeccable”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

French

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Late Latin impeccābilis, from peccāre (whence pécher).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɛ̃.pɛ.kabl/ ~ /ɛ̃.pe.kabl/

• Audio (France (Lyon)):

  (file)

Adjective

impeccable (plural impeccables)

1. perfect, faultless, impeccable

   Synonym: (clipping, informal) impec

   Near-synonym: irréprochable

Derived terms

• impeccablement
• impec

Further reading

• “impeccable”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.