Meaning & use
impeccable
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Meaning
adjectivenot comparableapproving
Perfect in execution, with no mistake or weak point that anyone could point to.
Grammar: Used before a noun or after 'be': impeccable manners, her timing was impeccable.
Patterns
- impeccable taste
- impeccable credentials
- impeccable timing
The waiter's service was impeccable from start to finish.
She arrived with impeccable timing, just as the speeches ended.
His English is impeccable, even though he only moved here last year.
Common combinations
- impeccable taste
- Their living room shows impeccable taste without feeling cold.
- impeccable manners
- The little boy greeted every guest with impeccable manners.
- impeccable credentials
- The new director has impeccable credentials in public health.
- impeccable timing
- The rain stopped with impeccable timing, right before the parade.
- impeccably dressed
- He was impeccably dressed for the interview.
Synonyms and how they differ
- flawless
- Flawless stresses the total absence of defects, and it fits objects like skin or a performance more naturally than impeccable.
- faultless
- Faultless is about having made no errors and is a little less elegant in tone than impeccable.
- immaculate
- Immaculate is mostly about cleanliness and neatness, so it suits a spotless room better than a flawless argument.
- perfect
- Perfect is the broadest and everyday option, while impeccable sounds more polished and is used for standards and conduct.
Opposites
Word family
- impeccably adverb
- in a perfect, faultless way
- impeccability noun
- the state of having no faults
- peccadillo noun
- a small, forgivable fault, from the same Latin root meaning to sin
Commonly confused: impeccable or impregnable?
impeccable vs impregnable
Impregnable means impossible to break into or defeat, such as a fortress, and says nothing about quality.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'impeccable' correctly?
Choose one answer.
Impeccable means no flaws at all, so it fits error-free records. It clashes with 'too salty' and does not normally take 'more' or 'fairly'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “impeccable”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.