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

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

Some of it feels incomplete as I listen to it now.

From Los Angeles Times

And even incomplete, flawed agreements can create openings.

From Los Angeles Times

On the next play, he scrambled forward out of the pocket and attempted a short pass that fell incomplete, moving with no obvious hindrance or signs of discomfort.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

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