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incomplete

 - 4 dictionary results

in⋅com⋅plete

[in-kuhm-pleet]
–adjective
1. not complete; lacking some part.
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. Compare complete (def. 8), redundant (def. 5c).
4. Logic, Philosophy.
a. (of an expression or symbol) meaningful only in a specific context.
b. (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. Compare complete (def. 7).
–noun
5. 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.

Origin:
1350–1400; ME < LL incomplētus. See in- 3 , complete


in⋅com⋅plete⋅ly, adverb
in⋅com⋅plete⋅ness, noun


1. unfinished, partial, fragmentary.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To incomplete
in·com·plete   (ĭn'kəm-plēt')   
adj.  
  1. Not complete.

  2. Football Not caught in bounds or intercepted: an incomplete forward pass.

in'com·plete'ly adv., in'com·plete'ness, in'com·ple'tion n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

incomplete 
c.1380, from L. incompletus, from in- "not" + completus (see complete).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: in·com·plete
Pronunciation: "in-k&m-'plEt
Function: adjective
1 of insect metamorphosis : having no pupalstage between the immature stages and the adult with the young insect usually resembling the adult —compare COMPLETE 1
2 of a bone fracture : not broken entirely across —compare COMPLETE 2
3 : characterized by incomplete dominance incomplete dominant>
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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