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

Clifford completed 27 of 57 passes for 340 yards, and the Penn State running game, without its top two backs, offered little support.
Maryland’s newcomers lead the way in stunning rout at Penn State|Emily Giambalvo|November 8, 2020|Washington Post
She tells us that Notre Dame’s archaeological crypt needs a “complete review,” without explaining why.
Watching the flames burn Notre Dame, the spiritual heart of France|Elaine Sciolino|November 6, 2020|Washington Post
Niners quarterback Nick Mullens threw an interception and completed only eight of 16 passes for 87 yards.
Ravaged by injuries and coronavirus issues, the 49ers had little chance against the Packers|Mark Maske|November 6, 2020|Washington Post
Forty percent of women go part-time or leave medicine within six years of completing residency due to barriers such as gender harassment, salary inequity, and work-family conflict.
Women are America’s most important health care customers. So why is the system designed by men?|jakemeth|November 5, 2020|Fortune

Results aren’t actually complete until the county has received and counted all ballots, including mail-in ones.
Follow along as battleground states tally presidential votes|John Kennedy|November 5, 2020|Popular-Science

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