to perfection
19
3.5
- idiom
:
a la perfección
- Part of the role seemed to require a certain lofty aloofness, which she carried off to perfection.
- work to perfection
Like that's as close to perfection as I've ever seen it.
- Like that's as close to perfection as I've ever seen it.
- This stuff blends out to perfection though.
- Drive yourself to perfection for every one of your tasks and become one.
- No, you toasted it to perfection.
- It's moist, cooked to perfection, ma'am.
- And then you can move on and get closer to perfection.
Examples
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Antonio's tactic is to be submissive and loving, and it works to perfection.
Academic text (1996) -
She executed the dance routine to perfection, impressing the judges with her precision.
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How close to perfection can we get this time?
-
Close as you can get to perfection
-
You have no idea how close to perfection you are.
Fiction book (1994) -
Yes, we had our orders, and we played our roles to perfection.
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It's one of those nights, you know... when those elements just blend to perfection.
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Find yourself something you're good at and do it to perfection, something you enjoy.
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They serve the breast first and cook the legs a little longer, to perfection.
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Stine's ingenious plan worked to perfection.
Synonyms
657
1.0
In a way with no mistakes
23
4.4
Act exactly as told, without changing any detail
16
4.1
In a way that has no mistakes
11
4.9
In a perfect way with no mistakes
10
7.6
In a way that is exact in every detail
5
5.5
In a very clean and perfect way
1
6.9
In a skillful and perfect way
1
7.7
Exactly the right amount or degree needed
Antonyms
How Well
Surface Forms
Morphology
to + perfection
The phrase means 'in a perfect way' and this is directly derivable from 'perfection' (a flawless state) with 'to' marking direction/extent — together yielding 'to the state of perfection' = perfectly. This preposition+noun pattern expressing attainment of a state is cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents will readily infer the meaning.
Etymology
To perfection comes from the image of a maker or craftsman who keeps adjusting something until every small part is exactly right. So, saying something was done to perfection means it was done 'perfectly' or 'in every detail'.