unfinished
adjective
Simple meaning
Started but not yet completed.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
uhnfinishtSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ənˈfɪnɪʃt
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 brought to the desired final state
Not brought to an end or conclusion
of objects
Not having had any finish or finishing (such as coating or polishing) applied.
of rooms or other indoor spaces
Not having had any finish carpentry and other finishing (such as painting) applied.
Not completed; unresolved.
Understand the Word
How this word is built, and what each part adds.
Unfinished describes work that has been started but not completed.
- un-
- not, or without
- finished
- completed
Prefix function , Not — expresses absence of the quality
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B2 · Upper Intermediate (estimated)
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Not brought to the desired final state
Used this way, unfinished is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately 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 unfinished
- “The house project is still unfinished after months of work.”adjective
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
Work that is left incomplete.
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What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
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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.