incomplete

[in-kuh m-pleet] /ˌɪn kəmˈplit/
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.
  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.
    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; Middle English < Late Latin incomplētus. See in-3, complete
Related forms
incompletely, adverb
incompleteness, noun
subincomplete, adjective
Synonyms
1. unfinished, partial, fragmentary.
Examples from the web for incomplete
  • Best thing you can do if a reporter starts writing science is to take it as mostly inaccurate or incomplete.
  • incomplete composting lowers the value of the finished product and makes recycling and composting more costly.
  • He suspects that the chamber was intended to be much larger but was left incomplete.
  • The enclosed instructions were confused and made no mention that the software was incomplete with some features inactivated.
  • These measurements, however, were inaccurate and incomplete.
  • And sometimes a knife-wielding vandal decides that a precious rock-art panel is incomplete because it doesn't bear his initials.
  • The electrification of personal vehicles, however, offers an incomplete solution.
  • Today, both the fencing and structures are incomplete.
  • The graphics below are our incomplete attempt to do so.
  • Less understood, however, is what becomes of those patterns at moments of incomplete recall.
British Dictionary definitions for incomplete

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
Derived Forms
incompletely, adverb
incompleteness, incompletion, noun
Word Origin and History for incomplete
adj.

late 14c., from Latin incompletus "incomplete," from in- "not" (see in- (1)) + completus (see complete).