: having no colored spots or marks—used especially in botany and zoology
petals immaculate
immaculatelyadverb
immaculatenessnoun
… the immaculateness of scrubbed decks … William Sansom
Did you know?
The opposite of immaculate is maculate, which means "marked with spots" or "impure." The Latin word maculatus, the past participle of a verb meaning "to stain," is the source of both words and can be traced back to macula, a word that scientists still use for spots on the skin, on the wings of insects, and on the surface of celestial objects. Maculate has not marked as many pages as immaculate, but it has appeared occasionally (one might say "spottily"), especially as an antithesis to immaculate. We find the pair, for example, in an article by Peter Schjeldahl in an April 2004 issue of The New Yorker: "Rob's apartment, with its immaculate ranks of album spines and its all too maculate strewing of everything else…."
… they seemed as remote from metaphysics as their lunch bags and knapsacks. Yet weren't they all heading for those immaculate country snowfields to talk of God? Cynthia Ozick, Atlantic, May 1997… and added to this was the fact that this Soviet Army Colonel had a service record that was as immaculate as a field of freshly fallen snow … Tom Clancy, The Cardinal of the Kremlin, (1988) 1989I was expecting some giant to emerge, but in came a tiny, immaculate, white-haired man. Anna Russell, I'm Not Making This Up, You Know, 1985 She had an immaculate record of service. somehow managed to keep the white carpet immaculate
Recent Examples on the WebThe luxury hotel is housed in a Belle Epoque mansion and connected by immaculate gardens and two swimming pools. Megan Wood, Travel + Leisure, 14 July 2021 The streets are immaculate; thanks to its Art Deco architecture, a living legacy of the Italian colonial period, the city is a UNESCO World Heritage Site; the weather is perfect. Steve Walker, The Atlantic, 5 Sep. 2022 Though her brows are still immaculate, Shields' skin at 57 is starting to steal the spotlight, with a radiance that rivals most twentysomethings. Madison Yauger, Peoplemag, 24 Aug. 2022 Cutting to the chase, the wing that Ari applied was immaculate. Elle Turner, Glamour, 19 Aug. 2022 Yes, her grooming was immaculate, right down to the pearlescent French manicure with its coffin tips.New York Times, 3 Aug. 2022 The ship is immaculate, the food excellent, but there is no waste. Heather Farmbrough, Forbes, 25 July 2022 Detmers is the first rookie to throw an immaculate inning and a no-hitter in the same season. Sarah Valenzuela, Los Angeles Times, 31 July 2022 According to a report from the Associated Press, Detmers' immaculate inning was the 109th in baseball history.The Courier-Journal, 31 July 2022 See More
Word History
Etymology
Middle English immaculat, from Latin immaculatus, from in- + maculatus stained — more at maculate