as in dreamer
a person who wants things to be done perfectly or who tries to do things perfectly
I'm a bit of a perfectionist, which makes it difficult for me to finish things sometimes.
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Recent Examples of perfectionist
Monsieur D’Estrées was a very strict teacher, a perfectionist.
—
Valentina Bottoni, Vanity Fair, 30 Mar. 2026
This means the perfectionist in you can zero in on the perfect shade of beige or blue without shelling out for customized covers.
—Julia Harrison, Architectural Digest, 3 Mar. 2026
As a teacher and mother—and lifelong perfectionist—I was used to tending to others’ emotional needs, anticipating them.
—Literary Hub, 18 Feb. 2026
Rumi, who’s a perfectionist, that leads to a lot of the darkness and her shadow side.
—Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 17 Feb. 2026
One is a nomad, and one is an organized perfectionist.
—Amanda Favazza, Southern Living, 15 Feb. 2026
To be a perfectionist is normally to be a pain.
—Kevin Power, The New York Review of Books, 2 Feb. 2026
Smith-Njigba is a perfectionist, though.
—Michael-Shawn Dugar, New York Times, 10 Jan. 2026
While Davis was known as being a perfectionist to a fault, which sometimes led to clashes with cohorts on her many movie sets, this wasn't the case between the two actresses while filming 1961's Pocketful of Miracles.
—Angela Andaloro, PEOPLE, 9 Jan. 2026
Valentina Bottoni, Vanity Fair, 30 Mar. 2026
This means the perfectionist in you can zero in on the perfect shade of beige or blue without shelling out for customized covers.
—Julia Harrison, Architectural Digest, 3 Mar. 2026
As a teacher and mother—and lifelong perfectionist—I was used to tending to others’ emotional needs, anticipating them.
—Literary Hub, 18 Feb. 2026
Rumi, who’s a perfectionist, that leads to a lot of the darkness and her shadow side.
—Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 17 Feb. 2026
One is a nomad, and one is an organized perfectionist.
—Amanda Favazza, Southern Living, 15 Feb. 2026
To be a perfectionist is normally to be a pain.
—Kevin Power, The New York Review of Books, 2 Feb. 2026
Smith-Njigba is a perfectionist, though.
—Michael-Shawn Dugar, New York Times, 10 Jan. 2026
While Davis was known as being a perfectionist to a fault, which sometimes led to clashes with cohorts on her many movie sets, this wasn't the case between the two actresses while filming 1961's Pocketful of Miracles.
—Angela Andaloro, PEOPLE, 9 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for perfectionist
dreamer
Noun
-
And who could blame these romantic dreamers for wanting to cast aside the surly bonds of Earth to visit the pale beauty of our cratered satellite?—
Jeff Spry,
Space.com,
30 Mar. 2026
-
As depicted in the play, the Lehman family had its high achievers and its dreamers, its capitalists and its liberals.—
Pam Kragen,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
29 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Perfectionist.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/perfectionist. Accessed 7 Apr. 2026.
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