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, volumes (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

• 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
• Malayalam: കുറ്റമറ്റ (kuṟṟamaṟṟa)
• Russian: безупре́чный (ru) (bezupréčnyj), безукори́зненный (ru) (bezukoríznennyj)
• Slovene: brezhiben, popoln
• 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)
• Finnish: nuhteeton (fi), rikkeetön
• French: impeccable (fr)
• German: unfehlbar (de), untadelig (de), makellos (de)
• Greek: αναμάρτητος (el) (anamártitos)
• Hungarian: makulátlan (hu), feddhetetlen (hu)
• Malayalam: കുറ്റമറ്റ (kuṟṟamaṟṟa)
• Russian: непогреши́мый (ru) (nepogrešímyj), безгре́шный (ru) (bezgréšnyj)
• Slovene: brezmadežen, brezhiben
• 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.
• “impeccable”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• “impeccable”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Late Latin impeccābilis, from peccāre (whence pécher).

Pronunciation

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

• Audio

  (file)

Adjective

impeccable (plural impeccables)

1. perfect, faultless, impeccable

Further reading

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