How to pronounce pluperfect
Say it like ploo-PUR-fikt. Pluperfect has three syllables, and the main stress falls on the second one (PUR).
Click the play button next to American or British to hear how to pronounce pluperfect. Choose Slow to hear each sound clearly.
- ploo
- PUR
- fikt
- Main stress
- Lighter stress
- Unstressed
Pluperfect pronunciation, sound by sound
Read the parts left to right, then blend them together without pausing.
- plooKeep this part quick and light. The vowel is the "oo" in food.
- PURSay this part loudest and longest. The vowel is the "ur" in nurse.
- fiktKeep this part quick and light. The vowel is the "i" in sit.
American vs British pronunciation of pluperfect
- Americans pronounce the r after a vowel; most British speakers leave it silent and lengthen the vowel instead.
British respelling: ploo-PUR-fikt.
What does pluperfect mean?
- More than perfect, utterly perfect, ideal.
- Pertaining to action completed before another action or event in the past, past perfect.
- Being or relating to a certain type of graph that complies with a theorem ("pluperfect graph theorem") discovered by D. R. Fulkerson in 1970, satisfying even more constraints than a perfect graph.
- The pluperfect tense, the past perfect.
- A verb in this tense.
Where does pluperfect come from?
Shortening of plusquamperfect, from Latin plusquamperfectum (“more than perfect”), from plus (“more”) + quam (“than”) + perfectum, neuter singular of perfectus (“achieved; finished; perfected”).
Words that rhyme with pluperfect
Practicing rhymes is a quick way to lock in the vowel sound of pluperfect.
Questions about saying pluperfect
How do you pronounce pluperfect?
Say ploo-PUR-fikt. The American pronunciation is /pluˈpɝfɪkt/. In British English it is /pluːˈpɜːfɪkt/. Press play above to hear it at normal speed or slowly.
How many syllables are in pluperfect?
Pluperfect has three syllables, and the main stress falls on the second one (PUR). Broken into parts: ploo · PUR · fikt.
Is pluperfect pronounced differently in British English?
Yes. Americans pronounce the r after a vowel; most British speakers leave it silent and lengthen the vowel instead. The British form is /pluːˈpɜːfɪkt/ (ploo-PUR-fikt).