pluperfect
Also found in: Thesaurus, Wikipedia.
plu·per·fect
(plo͞o-pûr′fĭkt)adj.
1. Of or being a verb tense used to express action completed before a specified or implied past time.
2. More than perfect; supremely accomplished; ideal: "He has won a reputation as [a] pluperfect bureaucrat" (New York Times).
n.
1. The pluperfect tense, formed in English with the past participle of a verb and the auxiliary had, as had learned in the sentence He had learned to type by the end of the semester. Also called past perfect.
2. A verb or form in the pluperfect tense.
[Middle English pluperfyth, alteration of Latin plūs quam perfectum, more than perfect : plūs, more; see pelə- in Indo-European roots + quam, than + perfectum, neuter past participle of perficere, to complete; see perfect.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
pluperfect
(pluːˈpɜːfɪkt)adj, n
(Grammar) grammar another term for past perfect
[C16: from the Latin phrase plūs quam perfectum more than perfect]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
plu•per•fect
(pluˈpɜr fɪkt)adj.
2. more than perfect: speaking with pluperfect precision.
n. [1520–30; < Latin plū(s quam)perfectum (more than) perfect, translation of Greek hypersyntelikós]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
pluperfect
Used to describe a verb form that expresses an action, that has been completed before the time of speaking, as in “We had walked.”
Dictionary of Unfamiliar Words by Diagram Group Copyright © 2008 by Diagram Visual Information Limited
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Switch to new thesaurus
Noun 1. pluperfect - a perfective tense used to express action completed in the past; "`I had finished' is an example of the past perfect"
perfect, perfect tense, perfective, perfective tense - a tense of verbs used in describing action that has been completed (sometimes regarded as perfective aspect)
Adj. 1. pluperfect - more than perfect; "he spoke with pluperfect precision"
perfect - being complete of its kind and without defect or blemish; "a perfect circle"; "a perfect reproduction"; "perfect happiness"; "perfect manners"; "a perfect specimen"; "a perfect day"
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
Translations
pluskvamperfekti
pretérito mais-que-perfeito
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005
pluperfect
n → Vorvergangenheit f, → Plusquamperfekt nt
adj → in der Vorvergangenheit, im Plusquamperfekt ; pluperfect tense → Vorvergangenheit f, → Plusquamperfekt nt
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995