"perfect is the enemy of good" meaning in English

See perfect is the enemy of good in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Proverb

Forms: the perfect is the enemy of the good [alternative]
Etymology: A variant of the older the best is the enemy of the good, popularized by Voltaire in French as le mieux est l’ennemi du bien, itself a translation of the Italian proverb il meglio è nemico del bene. Etymology templates: {{der|en|it|-}} Italian Head templates: {{en-proverb}} perfect is the enemy of good
  1. Insistence on perfection often precludes the opportunity for something worthwhile.
    Sense id: en-perfect_is_the_enemy_of_good-en-proverb-NmPiFnFc Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, English proverbs, Entries with translation boxes, Pages with 1 entry, Pages with entries, Terms with Esperanto translations, Terms with French translations, Terms with German translations, Terms with Italian translations, Terms with Mandarin translations, Terms with Norwegian Bokmål translations, Terms with Polish translations, Terms with Russian translations, Terms with Vietnamese translations Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 48 52 Disambiguation of English proverbs: 48 52 Disambiguation of Entries with translation boxes: 48 52 Disambiguation of Pages with 1 entry: 48 52 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 48 52 Disambiguation of Terms with Esperanto translations: 50 50 Disambiguation of Terms with French translations: 50 50 Disambiguation of Terms with German translations: 50 50 Disambiguation of Terms with Italian translations: 53 47 Disambiguation of Terms with Mandarin translations: 50 50 Disambiguation of Terms with Norwegian Bokmål translations: 51 49 Disambiguation of Terms with Polish translations: 50 50 Disambiguation of Terms with Russian translations: 50 50 Disambiguation of Terms with Vietnamese translations: 50 50
  2. Insistence on perfection precludes gradual improvement through compromises.
    Sense id: en-perfect_is_the_enemy_of_good-en-proverb-F8C9Md2i Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, English proverbs, Entries with translation boxes, Pages with 1 entry, Pages with entries, Terms with Esperanto translations, Terms with French translations, Terms with German translations, Terms with Italian translations, Terms with Mandarin translations, Terms with Norwegian Bokmål translations, Terms with Polish translations, Terms with Russian translations, Terms with Vietnamese translations Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 48 52 Disambiguation of English proverbs: 48 52 Disambiguation of Entries with translation boxes: 48 52 Disambiguation of Pages with 1 entry: 48 52 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 48 52 Disambiguation of Terms with Esperanto translations: 50 50 Disambiguation of Terms with French translations: 50 50 Disambiguation of Terms with German translations: 50 50 Disambiguation of Terms with Italian translations: 53 47 Disambiguation of Terms with Mandarin translations: 50 50 Disambiguation of Terms with Norwegian Bokmål translations: 51 49 Disambiguation of Terms with Polish translations: 50 50 Disambiguation of Terms with Russian translations: 50 50 Disambiguation of Terms with Vietnamese translations: 50 50
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Synonyms: better is the enemy of good, perfection is the enemy of good, perfect is the enemy of good enough, the best is the enemy of the good, the better is the enemy of the good Derived forms: make the perfect the enemy of the good, let the perfect be the enemy of the good Related terms: half a loaf is better than none, leave well enough alone Translations (Translations): 求全責備 /求全责备 (Chinese Mandarin), plibono estas malamiko de bono (Esperanto), le mieux est l’ennemi du bien (French), das Bessere ist der Feind des Guten (German), il meglio è nemico del bene (Italian), det beste er det godes verste fiende (Norwegian Bokmål), lepsze jest wrogiem dobrego (Polish), cầu toàn trách bị (Vietnamese)
Disambiguation of 'Translations': 48 52

Alternative forms

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      "word": "perfection is the enemy of good"
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    {
      "word": "perfect is the enemy of good enough"
    },
    {
      "word": "the best is the enemy of the good"
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    {
      "word": "the better is the enemy of the good"
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      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "sense": "Translations",
      "word": "求全責備 /求全责备"
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      "code": "eo",
      "lang": "Esperanto",
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      "word": "plibono estas malamiko de bono"
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      "word": "le mieux est l’ennemi du bien"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "Translations",
      "word": "das Bessere ist der Feind des Guten"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
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      "word": "il meglio è nemico del bene"
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      "code": "nb",
      "lang": "Norwegian Bokmål",
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      "word": "det beste er det godes verste fiende"
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      "word": "lepsze jest wrogiem dobrego"
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