partial

[ pahr-shuhl ]

/ ˈpɑr ʃəl /

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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR partial ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

being such in part only; not total or general; incomplete: partial blindness; a partial payment of a debt.

biased or prejudiced in favor of a person, group, side, etc., over another, as in a controversy: a partial witness.

pertaining to or affecting a part.

being a part; component; constituent.

Botany. secondary or subordinate: a partial umbel.

noun

Bridge. part-score.

Acoustics, Music. partial tone.

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

SYNONYMS FOR partial

1 unfinished, imperfect, limited.

2 one-sided, unfair, unjust.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR partial ON THESAURUS.COM

ANTONYMS FOR partial

1, 3 complete.

2 unbiased, fair.

SEE MORE ANTONYMS FOR partial ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

par·tial·ly, adverbpar·tial·ness, nounnon·par·tial, adjectivenon·par·tial·ly, adverb

o·ver·par·tial, adjectiveo·ver·par·tial·ly, adverbo·ver·par·tial·ness, noun

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

Despite the financial remedy, partial repeal of the screen quota has imperiled the domestic market.
Propaganda, Protest, and Poisonous Vipers: The Cinema War in Korea|Rich Goldstein|December 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Or perhaps Understanding, Partial Ignorance, and Total Ignorance.
Extreme Weather? Blame the End Times|Jay Michaelson|November 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
A better taxonomy would break us up by words like Acceptance, Partial Denial, and Total Denial.
Extreme Weather? Blame the End Times|Jay Michaelson|November 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He majored in mathematical physics, studying mind-bending theories of quantum mechanics and partial differential equations.
How the NSA Became a Killing Machine|Shane Harris|November 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST

The shooting left Brady with slurred speech, and with partial paralysis, which required him to use a wheelchair.
Jim Brady, Reagan’s Gentle ‘Bear’ Who Roared Back to Life After Being Shot|Eleanor Clift|August 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The following typical case of partial stupor is quoted as an example of delusions appearing only during the onset.
Benign Stupors|August Hoch
In all cases it is not uncommon to have a partial recovery followed by relapse when the animal becomes excited from any cause.
Special Report on Diseases of the Horse|United States Department of Agriculture
Their present restriction and partial extermination have been due to the incursions of the warlike Malays.
Man And His Ancestor|Charles Morris
Out of the prevailing silence he suddenly distinguished voices at hand, and the sound awoke him to partial interest.
Beth Norvell|Randall Parrish
Following is a partial list of words of foreign origin which should not be italicized even when the original accents are retained.
The Uses of Italic|Frederick W. Hamilton

British Dictionary definitions for partial

partial

/ (ˈpɑːʃəl) /

adjective

relating to only a part; not general or completea partial eclipse

biaseda partial judge

(postpositive foll by to) having a particular liking (for)

botany

constituting part of a larger structurea partial umbel
used for only part of the life cycle of a planta partial habitat
(of a parasite) not exclusively parasitic

maths designating or relating to an operation in which only one of a set of independent variables is considered at a time

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