Imperfectibility

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The attribute of not being able to realize perfection in any form
2. The characteristic of something that cannot attain flawlessness or complete excellence
3. A quality that means something cannot be brought to a state without faults or errors

Etymology: The word is a chain of three prefixes and suffixes stacked onto a verb. At its base is "perfect", from Latin "perfectus", the past participle of "perficere", meaning "to complete" or "to finish off". English then formed "perfectible", capable of being made perfect, and from that "perfectibility", the quality of being able to reach perfection. Adding the negating prefix "im-" gives the sense of being incapable of ever reaching that state. The "im-" here is the same negating prefix found in "impossible" and "immortal", and "-ity" turns the adjective into a noun naming a quality. The word is a plain formation built from familiar English parts rather than a term with a single coiner or dramatic story. It is most often met in discussions of philosophy and human nature, where it names the idea that people or institutions can never be made wholly flawless.