partial

American  

[pahr-shuhl] / ˈpɑr ʃəl /

adjective

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

   partial blindness;

   a partial payment of a debt.

   Synonyms:

   limited, imperfect, unfinished

   Antonyms:

   complete

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

   a partial witness.

   Synonyms:

   unjust, unfair, one-sided

   Antonyms:

   fair, unbiased

3. pertaining to or affecting a part.

   Antonyms:

   complete

4. being a part; component; constituent.

5. Botany. secondary or subordinate.

   a partial umbel.

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noun

1. Bridge. part-score.

2. Acoustics, Music. partial tone.

idioms

1. partial to, having a liking or preference for; particularly fond of.

   I'm partial to chocolate cake.

partial British  

/ ˈpɑːʃəl /

adjective

1. relating to only a part; not general or complete

   a partial eclipse

2. biased

   a partial judge

3. having a particular liking (for)

4. botany

   1. constituting part of a larger structure

      a partial umbel

   2. used for only part of the life cycle of a plant

      a partial habitat

   3. (of a parasite) not exclusively parasitic

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

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noun

1. 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

2. maths a partial derivative

Other Word Forms

• nonpartial adjective
• overpartial adjective
• overpartialness noun
• partially adverb
• partialness noun

Etymology

Origin of partial

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English parcial “biased, particular,” from Middle French, from Late Latin partiālis “pertaining to a part,” equivalent to Latin parti- (stem of pars ) “piece, portion” + -ālis adjective suffix; part, -al ¹

Example Sentences

Using X-ray records, investigators were able to confirm that the partial remains found in 1999 and in 2022 belonged to Kinney, according to the release.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 30, 2026

Importantly, the bank adds that these scenarios are "partial" and "could be accompanied by other negative developments."

From BBC • Mar. 28, 2026

All three stocks have benefited from travel delays amid the partial government shutdown.

From Barron's • Mar. 27, 2026

Houston Food Bank, which distributes food and other essentials in southeast Texas counties, has been doing special distributions for TSA workers during the partial government shutdown, according to its president and CEO Brian Greene.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 27, 2026

I was partial to the general store, but I liked to walk by the livery stable too.

From "Life Is So Good" by George Dawson

Related Words

• one-sided
• unfair