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compleat

American

[kuhm-pleet] / kəmˈplit /

adjective

highly skilled and accomplished in all aspects; complete; total.

the compleat actor, at home in comedy and tragedy.

compleat British

/ kəmˈpliːt /

adjective

an archaic spelling of complete, used esp in the titles of handbooks, in imitation of The Compleat Angler by Izaak Walton

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of compleat

1875–80; earlier spelling of complete, used phrasally in allusion to The Compleat Angler ( def. )

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

As the Don, Paul Hecht is the compleat cynic and as seductive as the hell he courts.

From Time Magazine Archive

The compleat public personality, Reagan knows how to use a soft answer to turn away wrath and humor to score a point.

From Time Magazine Archive

He still keeps studios in Europe, and, at 49, remains the compleat internationalist.

From Time Magazine Archive

Jacob Bronowski, 66, compleat scientist-humanist; of a heart attack; in East Hampton, N.Y.

From Time Magazine Archive

When Joseph Whipple met Ona, however, he was convinced of her “thirst for compleat freedom.”

From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023