verb
teleiomō
Strong’sG5048
I complete, accomplish, make perfect
stem telei-23 times in the New Testamentin 7 of 27 books17 forms occur
What it means
A plain-English reading of the word, with the lexicons it draws on — Abbott-Smith, Strong's, and Liddell-Scott-Jones — right below it, in full.
AI Summary
τελειόω means to bring something to its end or goal, and to bring something or someone to completeness or perfection.
In its first sense, it means to finish, accomplish, or fulfil something 124 — a task or work that is carried through to completion 13, a period of time that runs its course 1, or a scripture or prophecy that comes to fulfillment 13.
In its second sense, it means to bring to full completeness, maturity, or perfection 1234 — used both of things, such as faith or love reaching their intended fullness 1, and of persons, in an ethical and spiritual sense of being made perfect or brought to maturity 13; Strong's also lists consecrate among its English renderings 2.
Sources: 1 Abbott-Smith 2 Strong's 3 LSJ 4 Dodson. Condensed by anthropic/claude-sonnet-5 on 2026-09-23 — it may still misstate what these say; check them yourself if it matters to you.
The lexicons it was drawn from, in full:
Abbott-Smith — the 1922 lexicon entry, in full
τελειόω, -ῶ
(< τέλειος), [in LXX: Ex 29:9, Le 4:5, al. (τ. χεῖρας, מָלֵא pi.), II Ki 22:26, al. (תָּמַם), Wi 4:13, al. (cf. Westc., He., 64);]
G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 1922 — public domain. References open in the reader.
Strong’s G5048 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Saidtel-i-o'-o
to complete, i.e. (literally) accomplish, or (figuratively) consummate (in character)
Fromfrom G5046;
King Jamesconsecrate, finish, fulfil, make) perfect.
James Strong, Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, 1890 — public domain. The numbers in it link to the entries here.
Liddell-Scott-Jones — the classical dictionary this word appears in
and τελεόω (the latter always in Refs 5th c.BC+:— make perfect, complete:
I of things, acts, works, time, make perfect, complete, accomplish, πάντα ἐτελέωσε ποιήσας Refs 5th c.BC+; τελεώσαντες τὰς σπονδάς having completed the libations, Refs 5th c.BC+; τ. βίου ἐνιαυτούς complete the tale of years, Refs; τὸ ἔργον NT+2nd c.AD+:—middle, Refs 4th c.AD+:—passive, to be accomplished, Refs 5th c.BC+; τελεωθέντων ἀμφοτέροισι when both men had their wishes accomplished, Refs 5th c.BC+
I.b execute a legal instrument, make it valid by completing it, Refs 1st c.AD+
I.2 in Logic, τ. τὸ εἶδος complete, make perfect the form or species, Refs 4th c.BC+:—passive, of syllogisms, to be made perfect (by reduction to the 1st pers. figure, the other figures being ἀτελεῖς), Refs
I.3 passive, of prophecies, to be fulfilled, NT
II bring to perfection or consummation, ἐπιγενόμενα δὲ ταῦτα τῷ Δαρείῳ ἐτελέωσέ μιν sealed his success, in his claim to the monarchy, Refs 5th c.BC+; τελειῶσαι λόχον make the ambush successful, Refs 5th c.BC+:— passive, to be made perfect, attain perfection, Refs; especially by reaching maturity in point of age, Refs 5th c.BC+; so of the embryo, plants, come to maturity, Refs 4th c.BC+
II.2 in passive also, τελειωθῆναι, ={γῆμαι}, Refs 2nd c.AD+
II.3 passive, to be made perfect, of true Christians, NT
II.4 passive, die, Refs
III intransitive, bring fruit to maturity, come to maturity, Refs 4th c.BC+
H. G. Liddell, R. Scott, H. S. Jones, A Greek-English Lexicon (9th ed., 1925–1940) — digitised by the Perseus Digital Library and corrected and expanded by Tyndale House, Cambridge, via STEPBible-Data's TFLSJ table, CC BY 4.0. Covers all of Greek literature, not just the Bible.
Translated as
Every occurrence, sorted by the English it was actually given — the evidence for what the word means, not a gloss of it.
2 rarer renderings are not shown; every occurrence below carries the English it was given there.
Berean Standard Bible (BSB), dedicated to the public domain — berean.bible.
Biblang forms
What the New Testament actually uses, first — the whole system this verb is built from is one click further down.
| Form and the Greek behind it | What it is | Usually | Times |
|---|---|---|---|
| teleiomōτελειοῦμαι | happening now · Ipresent middle or passive indicative 1st person singular | complete | 1× |
| teleiataἐτελείωσεν | happened · he/she/itaorist active indicative 3rd person singular | made … perfect | 1× |
| teleiitaἐτελειώθη | happened · he/she/itaorist passive indicative 3rd person singular | made complete | 1× |
| teleiatēτετελείωκεν | has happened · he/she/itperfect active indicative 3rd person singular | perfected | 1× |
| teleiomēτετελείωμαι | has happened · Iperfect middle or passive indicative 1st person singular | made perfect | 1× |
| teleiotēτετελείωται | has happened · he/she/itperfect middle or passive indicative 3rd person singular | perfected | 3× |
| teleiameiaτελειώσω | happened · Iaorist active subjunctive 1st person singular | finish | 2× |
| teleiiteiaτελειωθῇ | happened · he/she/itaorist passive subjunctive 3rd person singular | fulfilled | 1× |
| teleiileiaτελειωθῶσιν | happened · theyaorist passive subjunctive 3rd person plural | made perfect | 1× |
| teleiaraτελειῶσαι | happened · the “to …” formaorist active infinitive | finish | 4× |
| teleiarantosτελειώσας | happened · subjectaorist active participle nominative singular masculine | completing | 1× |
| teleiarantoiuτελειωσάντων | happened · of, belonging toaorist active participle genitive plural masculine | over | 1× |
| teleiirantosτελειωθεὶς | happened · subjectaorist passive participle nominative singular masculine | made perfect | 1× |
| teleiorēntasτετελειωμένη | has happened · subjectperfect middle or passive participle nominative singular feminine | perfected | 1× |
| teleiorēntonτετελειωμένον | has happened · objectperfect middle or passive participle accusative singular masculine | made perfect | 1× |
| teleiorēntoisτετελειωμένοι | has happened · subjectperfect middle or passive participle nominative plural masculine | completely | 1× |
| teleiorēntoiuτετελειωμένων | has happened · of, belonging toperfect middle or passive participle genitive plural masculine | made perfect | 1× |
Every form the New Testament uses, in paradigm order. What the system can build beyond them — the whole of this verb, whether the text happens to use it or not — is in the tables below.
Every form the system can build — all 172, by mood, including the ones the New Testament never uses
Statements — indicative mood, 8 occurrences
the subject acts active voice
| Who person | happening now present | was happening imperfect | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect | had happened pluperfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | teleiamō | teleiame | teleiami | teleiama | teleiamē | teleiamelē |
| you 2nd person singular | teleiasō | teleiase | teleiasi | teleiasa | teleiasē | teleiaselē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | teleiatō | teleiate | teleiati | teleiata1×ἐτελείωσεν | teleiatē1×τετελείωκεν | teleiatelē |
| we 1st person plural | teleianō | teleiane | teleiani | teleiana | teleianē | teleianelē |
| ye 2nd person plural | teleiavō | teleiave | teleiavi | teleiava | teleiavē | teleiavelē |
| they 3rd person plural | teleialō | teleiale | teleiali | teleiala | teleialē | teleialelē |
acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice
| Who person | happening now present | was happening imperfect | has happened perfect | had happened pluperfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | teleiomō1×τελειοῦμαι | teleiome | teleiomē1×τετελείωμαι | teleiomelē |
| you 2nd person singular | teleiosō | teleiose | teleiosē | teleioselē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | teleiotō | teleiote | teleiotē3×τετελείωται | teleiotelē |
| we 1st person plural | teleionō | teleione | teleionē | teleionelē |
| ye 2nd person plural | teleiovō | teleiove | teleiovē | teleiovelē |
| they 3rd person plural | teleiolō | teleiole | teleiolē | teleiolelē |
acted on passive voice
| Who person | will happen future | happened aorist |
|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | teleiimi | teleiima |
| you 2nd person singular | teleiisi | teleiisa |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | teleiiti | teleiita1×ἐτελειώθη |
| we 1st person plural | teleiini | teleiina |
| ye 2nd person plural | teleiivi | teleiiva |
| they 3rd person plural | teleiili | teleiila |
May, might — subjunctive mood, 4 occurrences
the subject acts active voice
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | teleiameiō | teleiameia2×τελειώσω | teleiameiē |
| you 2nd person singular | teleiaseiō | teleiaseia | teleiaseiē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | teleiateiō | teleiateia | teleiateiē |
| we 1st person plural | teleianeiō | teleianeia | teleianeiē |
| ye 2nd person plural | teleiaveiō | teleiaveia | teleiaveiē |
| they 3rd person plural | teleialeiō | teleialeia | teleialeiē |
acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice
| Who person | happening now present | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | teleiomeiō | teleiomeiē |
| you 2nd person singular | teleioseiō | teleioseiē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | teleioteiō | teleioteiē |
| we 1st person plural | teleioneiō | teleioneiē |
| ye 2nd person plural | teleioveiō | teleioveiē |
| they 3rd person plural | teleioleiō | teleioleiē |
acted on passive voice
| Who person | happened aorist |
|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | teleiimeia |
| you 2nd person singular | teleiiseia |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | teleiiteia1×τελειωθῇ |
| we 1st person plural | teleiineia |
| ye 2nd person plural | teleiiveia |
| they 3rd person plural | teleiileia1×τελειωθῶσιν |
Commands — imperative mood, no occurrences
the subject acts active voice
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|
| you 2nd person singular | teleiasōr | teleiasar | teleiasēr |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | teleiatōr | teleiatar | teleiatēr |
| ye 2nd person plural | teleiavōr | teleiavar | teleiavēr |
| they 3rd person plural | teleialōr | teleialar | teleialēr |
acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice
| Who person | happening now present | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|
| you 2nd person singular | teleiosōr | teleiosēr |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | teleiotōr | teleiotēr |
| ye 2nd person plural | teleiovōr | teleiovēr |
| they 3rd person plural | teleiolōr | teleiolēr |
acted on passive voice
| Who person | happened aorist |
|---|---|
| you 2nd person singular | teleiisar |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | teleiitar |
| ye 2nd person plural | teleiivar |
| they 3rd person plural | teleiilar |
Wishes — optative mood, no occurrences
the subject acts active voice
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist |
|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | teleiamoiō | teleiamoia |
| you 2nd person singular | teleiasoiō | teleiasoia |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | teleiatoiō | teleiatoia |
| we 1st person plural | teleianoiō | teleianoia |
| ye 2nd person plural | teleiavoiō | teleiavoia |
| they 3rd person plural | teleialoiō | teleialoia |
acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice
| Who person | happening now present |
|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | teleiomoiō |
| you 2nd person singular | teleiosoiō |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | teleiotoiō |
| we 1st person plural | teleionoiō |
| ye 2nd person plural | teleiovoiō |
| they 3rd person plural | teleioloiō |
acted on passive voice
| Who person | happened aorist |
|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | teleiimoia |
| you 2nd person singular | teleiisoia |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | teleiitoia |
| we 1st person plural | teleiinoia |
| ye 2nd person plural | teleiivoia |
| they 3rd person plural | teleiiloia |
The “to …” form — infinitive, 4 occurrences
| Who is acting voice | happening now present | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| the subject acts active voice | teleiarō | teleiari | teleiara4×τελειῶσαι | teleiarē |
| acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice | teleiorō | teleiorē | ||
| acted on passive voice | teleiiri | teleiira |
Used as an adjective — participle, 7 occurrences
| Who is acting voice | happening now present | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| the subject acts active voice | teleiarōntos | teleiarintos | teleiarantos2×τελειώσας | teleiarēntos |
| acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice | teleiorōntos | teleiorēntos4× | ||
| acted on passive voice | teleiirintos | teleiirantos1×τελειωθεὶς |
Each is given in the form it takes as a subject. From there a participle carries the ordinary noun endings, in every case, number and gender — so these four columns are the whole of what the verb contributes.
How every form is built — the slots that make them
telei is this word in every one of its forms. The slots after it make all the rest.
same in every form varies — every value shown
Words built on the same stem
Other words sharing the exact same stem — not merely related in meaning.
Where it appears
Every verse the word appears in, filed under the form it takes there.
23 occurrences, every one of them listed
teleiomō“complete”happening now · Ipresent middle or passive indicative 1st person singular1×
Luke 13:32“complete”… sēmeron kai aurion, kai ta trita teleiomō.… healing people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I …
teleiata“made … perfect”happened · he/she/itaorist active indicative 3rd person singular1×
Hebrews 7:19oudenem gar teleiata tos nomos, epeisagōgas de kreittonau elpidau, …( for the law made nothing perfect), and a better hope is introduced …
teleiita“made complete”happened · he/she/itaorist passive indicative 3rd person singular1×
James 2:22“made complete”… kai ek teiu ergeiu tas pistias teleiita,… his actions, and his faith was perfected by what he …
teleiatē“perfected”has happened · he/she/itperfect active indicative 3rd person singular1×
Hebrews 10:14“perfected”hena gar prosfora teleiatē eis tem diēnekem toin hagiazorōntoin.… a single offering He has made perfect for all time those who are being sanctified.
teleiomē“made perfect”has happened · Iperfect middle or passive indicative 1st person singular1×
Philippians 3:12Ouk hoti ēdē labama ē ēdē teleiomē, diōkamō de ei kai katalabameia, epi …… all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take …
teleiotē“perfected”has happened · he/she/itperfect middle or passive indicative 3rd person singular3×
1 John 2:5… en houto tas agapas tou theou teleiotē. en houte gnōskanō hoti en auto …… love of God has been truly perfected in him. By this we know …
1 John 4:17en houte teleiotē tas agapas meta nu, hina parrēsian …In this way, love has been perfected among us, so that we may …
1 John 4:18… kolasian echatō, tos de foborōntos ouk teleiotē en ta agapa.… one who fears has not been perfected in love.
teleiameia“finish”happened · Iaorist active subjunctive 1st person singular2×
John 4:34… tem thelēmem tou pemparantou min kai teleiameia autou tem ergem.… Him who sent Me and to finish His work.
John 5:36… heim dōatē mi tos patros hina teleiameia auteim, auteim teim ergeim heim poiamō, …… the Father has given Me to accomplish — the very works I am doing …
teleiiteia“fulfilled”happened · he/she/itaorist passive subjunctive 3rd person singular1×
John 19:28“fulfilled”… Iēsus hoti ēdē panteim telotē hina teleiiteia tas grafas legatō; Dipsamō.… this, knowing that everything had now been accomplished, and to fulfill the Scripture, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.”
teleiileia“made perfect”happened · theyaorist passive subjunctive 3rd person plural1×
Hebrews 11:40… tinem probleperantou, hina mē chōris nu teleiileia.… together with us they would be made perfect.
teleiara“finish”happened · the “to …” formaorist active infinitive4×
Acts 20:24… poiomō tan psuchan timian miauto hōs teleiara ton dromon mu kai tan diakonian …… to me, if only I may finish my course and complete the ministry …
Hebrews 2:10… archēgon tau sōtērēau autoiu dia pathēmeiu teleiara.… through whom all things exist, to make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering.
Hebrews 9:9“perfect”… thusiais prosferolō mē dunorōntais kata suneidēsian teleiara ton latreuarōnton,… gifts and sacrifices being offered were unable to cleanse the conscience of the worshiper.
Hebrews 10:1… tem diēnekem oudepote dunotō toin proserchorōntoin teleiara;… same sacrifices offered year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship.
teleiarantos“completing”happened · subjectaorist active participle nominative singular masculine1×
John 17:4“completing”… doxazama epi tau gēau, tem ergem teleiarantos hem dōasē mi hina poiameia;I have glorified You on earth by accomplishing the work You gave Me to do.
teleiarantoiu“over”happened · of, belonging toaorist active participle genitive plural masculine1×
Luke 2:43kai teleiarantoiu tain hēmerain, en te hupostrefarō autoin …When those days were over and they were returning home, the …
teleiirantos“made perfect”happened · subjectaorist passive participle nominative singular masculine1×
Hebrews 5:9kai teleiirantos geneta pantoi toi hupakouarōntoi auto aitios …And having been made perfect, He became the source of eternal …
teleiorēntas“perfected”has happened · subjectperfect middle or passive participle nominative singular feminine1×
1 John 4:12… kai tas agapas autou en ni teleiorēntas atō.… in us, and His love is perfected in us.
teleiorēnton“made perfect”has happened · objectperfect middle or passive participle accusative singular masculine1×
Hebrews 7:28… ton nomon huion, eis ton aiōnon teleiorēnton.… appointed the Son, who has been made perfect forever.
teleiorēntois“completely”has happened · subjectperfect middle or passive participle nominative plural masculine1×
John 17:23“completely”… kai sis en mi, hina aleiō teleiorēntois eis henem, hina gnōskateiō tos kosmos …… in them and You in Me — that they may be perfectly united, so that the world may know that You …
teleiorēntoiu“made perfect”has happened · of, belonging toperfect middle or passive participle genitive plural masculine1×
Hebrews 12:23… krito theo pantoiu, kai pneumei dikaioiu teleiorēntoiu,… to the spirits of the righteous made perfect,