incomplete

[in-kuhm-pleet]

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.

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

/ 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

Other Word Forms

• incompletely adverb
• incompleteness noun
• subincomplete adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of incomplete¹

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

Example Sentences

There can be the assumption that to be Deaf is to be disconnected from music, or that the experience of sound must be diminished, lesser or incomplete.

From Los Angeles Times

The inquest heard that much of the evidence "was compromised and incomplete" after being removed in the search for Mr Davies, who was found in the kitchen area of his demolished home after six hours.

From BBC

"During a thorough due diligence process prior to completion of the purchase, the ownership group became aware of potentially incomplete financial reporting concerning historical transactions and other potential breaches of FA rules," Chelsea said.

From BBC

Other detainees often complained to Luis that their medication doses were incomplete or missing, including two men in his dorm who took anti-psychotic medication.

From Los Angeles Times

It also claimed it received "incomplete" financial details.

From BBC

Related Words

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