Incomplete
adjectiveNot finished, or lacking one or more of the parts needed to be whole.
How to spell incomplete
10 letters · 3 syllables
How to pronounce incomplete
Say the part in capitals loudest.
What does incomplete mean?
- adjectiveNot finished, or lacking one or more of the parts needed to be whole.
Incomplete in a sentence
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The application was rejected because the form was incomplete.
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His understanding of the contract was incomplete until the lawyer explained the clauses.
Where does incomplete come from?
Language of origin: Latin
The word incomplete is built from the Latin completus, the past participle of complere, which meant 'to fill up' or 'to finish', formed from com- (an intensifying prefix meaning 'together' or 'thoroughly') and plere 'to fill'. To this English added the negative prefix in-, meaning 'not', producing the sense 'not filled up' or 'unfinished'. The word entered English in the late 1300s, borrowed through Old French and Latin learned vocabulary at a time when many such formal terms were being adopted. The same plere root that means 'to fill' still lives inside relatives like 'complete', 'replete', 'deplete', and 'supplement'. Because the spelling keeps both the doubled consonant from com- meeting plet and the single -e ending, writers sometimes hesitate, but knowing it is simply 'not' plus 'complete' removes any guesswork.
How the word is built
- in- (not)
- com- (together)
- plet (from plere: to fill)
- -e
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