incomplete
adjective · noun
Simple meaning
Not complete or total.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
ihnkuhmpleetSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ɪnkəmpˈlit
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
adjective
Not complete or total; not completed
“An incomplete account of his life.”
Not complete; not finished.
botany
Of a flower, wanting any of the usual floral organs.
noun
A designation of being incomplete.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B2 · Upper Intermediate
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Not complete or total; not completed
Used this way, incomplete is a common word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
“An incomplete account of his life.”
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use incomplete
- “An incomplete account of his life.”adjective
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
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Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
Termination of pregnancy without expulsion of all of the products of conception.
Fracture that does not go across the entire width of the bone.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.