complete

[ kuhm-pleet ]

/ kəmˈplit /

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See synonyms for: complete / completes / completing / completely on Thesaurus.com

adjective

having all parts or elements; lacking nothing; whole; entire; full: a complete set of Mark Twain's writings.

finished; ended; concluded: a complete orbit.

having all the required or customary characteristics, skills, or the like; consummate; perfect in kind or quality: a complete scholar.

thorough; entire; total; undivided, uncompromised, or unmodified: a complete victory;a complete mess.

Grammar. having all modifying or complementary elements included: The complete subject of “The dappled pony gazed over the fence” is “The dappled pony.”Compare simple (def. 20).

Also completed. Football. (of a forward pass) caught by a receiver.

Logic. (of a set of axioms) such that every true proposition able to be formulated in terms of the basic ideas of a given system is deducible from the set.Compare incomplete (def. 4b).

Engineering. noting a determinate truss having the least number of members required to connect the panel points so as to form a system of triangles.Compare incomplete (def. 3), redundant (def. 5c).

(of persons) accomplished; skilled; expert.

Mathematics.

of or relating to an algebraic system, as a field with an order relation defined on it, in which every set of elements of the system has a least upper bound.
of or relating to a set in which every fundamental sequence converges to an element of the set.Compare fundamental sequence.
(of a lattice) having the property that every subset has a least upper bound and a greatest lower bound.

verb (used with object), com·plet·ed, com·plet·ing.

to make whole or entire: I need three more words to complete the puzzle.

to make perfect: His parting look of impotent rage completed my revenge.

to bring to an end; finish: Has he completed his new novel yet?

to consummate.

Football. to execute (a forward pass) successfully: He completed 17 passes in 33 attempts.

OTHER WORDS FOR complete

1 unbroken, unimpaired, undivided.

3 developed.

11 consummate, perfect, accomplish, achieve.

13 terminate, conclude, close.

See synonyms for complete on Thesaurus.com

OPPOSITES FOR complete

1 partial.

3 defective.

See antonyms for complete on Thesaurus.com

QUIZ

SHALL WE PLAY A "SHALL" VS. "SHOULD" CHALLENGE?

Should you take this quiz on “shall” versus “should”? It should prove to be a quick challenge!

Question 1 of 6

Which form is used to state an obligation or duty someone has?

shall

should

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of complete

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English, from Middle French or directly from Latin complētus (past participle of complēre “to fill up, fulfill,” equivalent to com- com- + plē- fill + -tus past participle suffix

usage note for complete

Occasionally there are objections to modifying complete with qualifiers like almost, more, most, nearly, and quite, because they suggest that complete is relative rather than absolute: an almost complete record; a more complete proposal; the most complete list available. However, such uses are fully standard and occur regularly in all varieties of spoken and written English. See also perfect, unique.

OTHER WORDS FROM complete

com·plet·a·ble, adjectivecom·plet·ed·ness, nouncom·plete·ly, adverbcom·plete·ness, noun

com·plet·er, nouncom·ple·tive, adjectivecom·ple·tive·ly, adverbhalf-com·plet·ed, adjectivepre·com·plete·ness, nounqua·si-com·plete, adjectivesub·com·plete, adjectivesub·com·plete·ness, nounun·com·plet·a·ble, adjectiveun·com·plete, adjectiveun·com·plete·ness, nounun·com·plet·ed, adjectivewell-com·plet·ed, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use complete in a sentence

Winston took over for Brees in the third quarter on Sunday and completed 6 of 10 passes for 60 yards while also getting sacked twice.
Taysom Hill, not Jameis Winston, reportedly will replace Drew Brees for the Saints|Matt Bonesteel|November 20, 2020|Washington Post
That was the last complete memory Hayes had from Saturday afternoon.
A high school football coach had a heart attack during a game, but didn’t leave until it was done|Kyle Melnick|November 20, 2020|Washington Post
Best to him and best to his players who are also infected on a speedy and complete recovery.
College football has been battered by covid. What’s most startling is our acceptance.|Barry Svrluga|November 20, 2020|Washington Post
Wilson was sacked on the night’s first play from scrimmage but completed all five of his passes for 58 yards on the drive while the Seahawks had a trio of third-down conversions.
Kyler Murray runs out of miracles as Seahawks hang on to take over first place in NFC West|Mark Maske|November 20, 2020|Washington Post

Because of the concern in the community, completing the investigation was a priority for prosecutors.
Federal prosecutors will not press charges against D.C. officer who fatally shot 18-year-old Deon Kay|Keith L. Alexander, Peter Hermann|November 20, 2020|Washington Post
Round and round in circles, no loose ends left over, and it all made for a comforting sense of completeness.
What It Was Like to Watch the Beatles Become the Beatles—Nik Cohn Remembers|Nik Cohn|February 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
For completeness, one must also consider the large group of people—the hay-fever crowd—who are allergic to mold.
Hurricane Sandy Won’t Bring a Mold Epidemic|Kent Sepkowitz|November 4, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Five means atonement; 10 means completeness; 17 means heaven.
Before the Rapture|Bryan Curtis|May 19, 2011|DAILY BEAST
But this astute psychology gives the drama a satisfying completeness.
Grey Gardens' Mad Women|Caryn James|April 14, 2009|DAILY BEAST
Curious differences appear in respect of the completeness of this linear noting or enumerating of features.
Children's Ways|James Sully
Only the ivy-covered walls of the building are now standing, but these are in an unusual state of completeness.
British Highways And Byways From A Motor Car|Thomas D. Murphy
There is in art an acme of perfection, as there10 is in Nature one of goodness and completeness.
The 'Characters' of Jean de La Bruyre|Jean de La Bruyre
And this final completeness comes from the last paintings which I group together as the "third."
The Painter in Oil|Daniel Burleigh Parkhurst
This completeness of expression may even go to the elimination of what is ordinarily looked upon as "finish."
The Painter in Oil|Daniel Burleigh Parkhurst

British Dictionary definitions for complete

complete

/ (kəmˈpliːt) /

adjective

having every necessary part or element; entire

ended; finished

(prenominal) thorough; absolutehe is a complete rogue

perfect in quality or kindhe is a complete scholar

(of a logical system) constituted such that a contradiction arises on the addition of any proposition that cannot be deduced from the axioms of the systemCompare consistent (def. 5)

(of flowers) having sepals, petals, stamens, and carpels

archaic expert or skilled; accomplished

verb (tr)

to make whole or perfect

to end; finish

(in land law) to pay any outstanding balance on a contract for the conveyance of land in exchange for the title deeds, so that the ownership of the land changes hands

American football (of a quarterback) to make a forward pass successfully

Derived forms of complete

completely, adverbcompleteness, nouncompleter, nouncompletion, noun

completive, adjective

Word Origin for complete

C14: from Latin complētus, past participle of complēre to fill up; see complement

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

complete

OTHER WORDS FOR complete

OPPOSITES FOR complete

Origin of complete

usage note for complete

OTHER WORDS FROM complete

Words related to complete

How to use complete in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for complete

Derived forms of complete

Word Origin for complete