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

“It makes me very nervous that we’re throwing money at an incomplete plan,” said Sharon Sand, who lost her home and is rebuilding.

From Los Angeles Times

Some people may be missing out on tax relief by submitting an incomplete tax return or not doing one at all.

From BBC

Union Pacific Chief Executive Jim Vena said the company is working on revising its merger application with Norfolk after the Surface Transportation Board ruled that the initial application was incomplete earlier this month.

From The Wall Street Journal

Much of the public discourse surrounding disasters such as last year’s fires focuses on blame, but Andrews considers that framing incomplete.

From Los Angeles Times

A drive that seemingly ended with an incomplete pass on third down was kept alive when Seahawks cornerback Riq Woolen was penalized for taunting.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

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