incomplete

American  

[in-kuhm-pleet] / ˌɪn kəmˈplit /

adjective

1. not complete; lacking some part.

   Synonyms:

   fragmentary, partial, unfinished

2. Football. (of a forward pass) not completed; not caught by a receiver.

3. Engineering. noting a truss the panel points of which are not entirely connected so as to form a system of triangles.

4. 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.

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noun

1. 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.

incomplete British  

/ ˌɪnkəmˈpliːt /

adjective

1. not complete or finished

2. not completely developed; imperfect

3. 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

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Other Word Forms

• incompletely adverb
• incompleteness noun
• subincomplete adjective

Etymology

Origin of incomplete

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

Example Sentences

Three Herbert scrambles and an incomplete pass later, and the Chargers were skulking off the field pointless, and the Patriots had a huge emotional lift.

From Los Angeles Times

So if you find yourself standing in front of your cabinets, drafting rules that feel overly strict, incomplete or vaguely panic-inducing, consider loosening your grip just a touch.

From Salon

With species disappearing faster than scientists can formally describe them, there is growing pressure to name species using incomplete information.

From Science Daily

Brooks said the minutes may be an "incomplete picture" and "not a perfect record" of the meeting but he did not agree that it was a "biased picture".

From BBC

But there has been no trial - court records show a series of postponements, for reasons ranging from missing reports and incomplete investigations to unavailable judges and administrative delays.

From BBC

Related Words

• deficient
• fragmentary
• inadequate
• insufficient
• lacking
• partial
• sketchy