incomplete

[in-kuhm-pleet]

See more synonyms for incomplete on Thesaurus.com

adjective

not complete; lacking some part.
Football. (of a forward pass) not completed; not caught by a receiver.
Engineering. noting a truss the panel points of which are not entirely connected so as to form a system of triangles.Compare complete(def 8), redundant(def 5c).

Logic, Philosophy.
1. (of an expression or symbol) meaningful only in a specific context.
2. (of a set of axioms) such that there is at least one true proposition (able to be formulated in terms of the basic ideas of a given system) that is not deducible from the set.Compare complete(def 7).

noun

Education. a temporary grade indicating that a student has not fulfilled one or more of the essential requirements for a course: If I don't hand in my term paper for last semester's English course, the professor is going to change my incomplete to an F.

Origin of incomplete

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English word from Late Latin word incomplētus. See in-³, complete

Related formsin·com·plete·ly, adverbin·com·plete·ness, nounsub·in·com·plete, adjective

Synonyms for incomplete

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1. unfinished, partial, fragmentary.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for incomplete

fragmentary, partial, lacking, deficient, inadequate, sketchy, insufficient, broken, crude, defective, fractional, immature, imperfect, incoherent, meager, part, rough, rude, rudimentary, short

Examples from the Web for incomplete

Contemporary Examples of incomplete

In the meantime, most of the detailed studies are incomplete in one way or another.
New York’s Conservative Fracking Ban
Jay Michaelson
December 20, 2014
I speak here to warn people that the facts presented in the opera are incomplete and distorted.
Rudy Giuliani: Why I Protested ‘The Death of Klinghoffer’
Rudy Giuliani
October 20, 2014
As a portrait of childhood in America, it is incomplete enough to be irresponsible.
Black 'Boyhood' Is Always Black First, Boy Later
Teo Bugbee
August 30, 2014
They gave her the forms instead, which she carries with her incomplete.
Italy's Latest Export Is Refugees, and the Rest of Europe Is Not Happy
Barbie Latza Nadeau
August 26, 2014
Any list of presidential sex symbols would be incomplete without Bill Clinton.
Fifty Shades of Presidential FanFiction
Amy Zimmerman
August 2, 2014

Historical Examples of incomplete

In proportion as the union is incomplete, the derived life is imperfect.
A Dish Of Orts
George MacDonald
“than to bide safely here,” -- a common figure of incomplete comparison.
Beowulf
Anonymous
Sometimes an incomplete erection is produced, which is insufficient.
The Sexual Question
August Forel
An incomplete invert declared to me that his ideal would be a man.
The Sexual Question
August Forel
It may be incomplete, it may be undeveloped, but so far as it goes it contains the truth.
The Meaning of Evolution
Samuel Christian Schmucker

British Dictionary definitions for incomplete

incomplete

adjective

not complete or finished
not completely developed; imperfect
logic
1. (of a formal theory) not so constructed that the addition of a non-theorem to the axioms renders it inconsistent
2. (of an expression) not having a reference of its own but requiring completion by another expression

Derived Formsincompletely, adverbincompleteness or incompletion, noun

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

Word Origin and History for incomplete

adj.

late 14c., from Latin incompletus "incomplete," from in- "not" (see in- (1)) + completus (see complete).