The best, most versatile, and least restrictive words in the English language are “perfect” and “perfective.”
Perfective doesn’t mean “to be perfect in anything.” Perfective has the meaning “best/perfect condition.” Perfective nouns include “perfections, qualities/qualities, and characteristics.”
Perfectives are so general that they apply to virtually any noun: “sensual” or “dear” or “excellent/accomplished,” etc.
Here are a few more examples:
I am a perfective adjective. I’m a perfective verb. I am perfective nouns. I am a perfective adjective. I’m a perfective verb.
Examples:
Perfective adjective: perfect or perfect in quality, appearance, or function. Perfective adjective: perfect in an ability to achieve. Perfective adjective: best in workmanship. Perfective adjective: best prepared for a difficult task. Perfective adjective: the best in training for a competitive job.
To become perfective in the English language means to become perfect at doing something.
Perfective nouns that are used as nouns often also do what the noun can do but more easily. For example, I am a good singer (in the sense of “best vocalist” or “best in singing”) and a great dancer (in the sense of “best dancer”) and I am a good driver. Perfective nouns can also do what a noun can do just faster, quicker or better than it could. As an example, the word “excellent” will never be “excellent to do something” in the English language, but the word “excellent” can do what a word can do just faster, quicker or better than it could.
A word may be perfective in the first and/or the third sense of the noun, but sometimes the first sense is preferred: you may be best to speak good English.
Examples:
You are a best in English, and yet you don’t really care, except you do care when people say things that you’re not good at. Perfective adjective: the best in good English. Perfective adjective: the best in good conversation. Perfective adjective: finest in the world. Perfective adjective: finest on the planet. Perfective adjective: the perfect person.
This article was originally published on American Grammar Connoisseur and can be found on the Gram