definitions

partial

[ pahr-shuhl ]
/ ˈpɑr ʃəl /
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR partial ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

noun

Bridge. part-score.
Acoustics, Music. partial tone.

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What Is The Difference Between “Partly” And “Partially”?Generally, the words may be used interchangeably to refer to some amount or degree that is less than the whole. For example, you can say: She is partly responsible for their fighting. / She is partially responsible for their fighting. However, partially may imply favoritism because it is related to ‘partial’ and does have the archaic sense ‘in a biased manner’. To avoid ambiguity when describing favoritism, say: He is ‘partial’ …
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RELATED WORDS

limited, one-sided, unfair, part, imperfect, sectional, partisan, colored, fractional, fragmentary, halfway, unfinished, uncompleted, discriminatory, disposed, influenced, interested, jaundiced, minded, predisposed

Nearby words

parti, parti pris, parti québécois, parti-colored, parti-coloured, partial, partial agglutinin, partial antigen, partial denture, partial derivative, partial differential

Idioms

    partial to, having a liking or preference for; particularly fond of: I'm partial to chocolate cake.

Origin of partial

1375–1425; late Middle English parcial biased, particular < Middle French < Late Latin partiālis pertaining to a part, equivalent to Latin parti- (stem of pars) part + -ālis -al1

Related forms

Can be confused

partially partly
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for partial

British Dictionary definitions for partial

partial

/ (ˈpɑːʃəl) /

adjective

noun

Also called: partial tone music acoustics any of the component tones of a single musical sound, including both those that belong to the harmonic series of the sound and those that do not
maths a partial derivative

Derived Forms

partially, adverbpartialness, noun

Word Origin for partial

C15: from Old French parcial, from Late Latin partiālis incomplete, from Latin pars part

xref

See partly
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