INDEX:
1. with all its parts included and nothing missing
2. examining, considering, or including every detail or part
3. to make something complete
4. not complete
RELATED WORDS
finish doing something : ↑ FINISH
see also
↑ COMPLETELY
↑ ALL/EVERYTHING
↑ FULL
◆◆◆
1. with all its parts included and nothing missing
▷ complete /kəmˈpliːt/ [adjective]
use this to say that something includes all the parts it should have, with nothing missing :
▪ Scientists have unearthed a complete dinosaur skeleton in Montana.
complete set
▪ When my grandmother died, I inherited a complete set of Dresden china.
the complete works of somebody
everything that an author has written
▪ We gave Vicki the complete works of Shakespeare.
▷ full /fʊl/ [adjective only before noun]
complete :
▪ Please write your full name and address at the top of the form.
▪ Sidney got married in full army uniform.
▪ Connors made a full confession to the police.
the full story
▪ We’re not being told the full story here.
▷ whole /həʊl/ [adjective only before noun]
complete, especially when this is very good, impressive, or unusual :
▪ I drank a whole bottle of wine by myself.
▪ After spending years piecing together fragments, we now have the whole original manuscript.
▷ in full /ɪn ˈfʊl/ [adverb]
if something is written, described, explained etc in full, everything necessary is included and nothing is left out; if you pay an amount of money in full, you pay the full amount :
▪ The text of the president’s speech will be published in full in tomorrow’s papers.
▪ The bill had been stamped "Paid in Full'.
▪ Taped testimony will be heard in full at the opening of the trial.
▷ in its entirety /ˌɪn ɪts ɪnˈtaɪ ə rə̇ti/ [adverb]
if something is read, performed, seen etc in its entirety, the whole of it is read etc, especially when it is something very big or complicated :
▪ Bach’s great masterpiece, the Mass in B minor, was never performed in its entirety during his lifetime.
▷ be all there /biː ˌɔːl ˈðeəʳ/ [verb phrase]
to be complete with the parts that should be there :
▪ It’s an old set, but you’ll find it’s all there -- the dice, cards, everything.
▪ You can count it if you want to, but it’s all there.
2. examining, considering, or including every detail or part
▷ complete /kəmˈpliːt/ [adjective]
▪ Police made a complete search of the area.
▪ A complete safety check was performed on the aircraft prior to takeoff.
▪ This is a complete list of educational publishers in Britain.
completely [adverb]
▪ He had the engine completely rebuilt.
completeness [uncountable noun]
▪ For the sake of completeness we should add these figures to the report.
▷ thorough /ˈθʌrəǁˈθʌrəʊ, ˈθʌrə/ [adjective]
a thorough search, examination, check etc includes everything that can be included :
▪ Congress is demanding a thorough investigation.
▪ Have you had a thorough medical check-up within the last year?
▪ His assessment of the situation was quite thorough.
thorough understanding
▪ The position requires a thorough understanding of web page design software.
thoroughly [adverb]
▪ A teacher must thoroughly understand his or her subject.
thoroughness [uncountable noun]
▪ The study was carried out with both thoroughness and objectivity.
▷ full /fʊl/ [adjective only before noun]
including all the necessary facts, or a lot of details :
▪ The atlas contains full statistical descriptions of each country.
▪ Full details of the travel arrangements will be published as soon as possible.
▪ David wants a full report of the accident first thing in the morning.
fully [adverb]
▪ The airline says the complaints will be fully investigated.
▪ Schatz pledged that the parents would be fully informed of the inquiry’s findings.
▷ comprehensive /ˌkɒmprɪˈhensɪv◂ǁˌkɑːm-/ [adjective]
very thorough, especially because it is important that nothing is left out and that every possible problem is dealt with :
▪ The factory was given a comprehensive safety inspection three months ago.
▪ This is the largest and most comprehensive study ever made of the city’s public transportation system.
comprehensively [adverb]
▪ The service had not been comprehensively reviewed since the Seventies.
▷ exhaustive /ɪgˈzɔːstɪv/ [adjective]
so complete that not even the smallest detail or possibility is missed :
▪ As a result of exhaustive inquiries the police are at last able to issue a description of the murderer.
▪ The list shown here is by no means exhaustive.
exhaustively [adverb]
▪ The report has been exhaustively examined for errors.
▷ in-depth /ˌɪn ˈdepθ◂/ [adjective only before noun]
an in-depth study, discussion, report etc is thorough and complete and considers all details :
▪ See chapter 6 for an in-depth discussion of this topic.
▪ The study is based on in-depth interviews with a nationally representative sample of 1,500 US households.
3. to make something complete
▷ complete /kəmˈpliːt/ [transitive verb]
▪ Brown lace leggings and black leather shoes completed the outfit.
▪ I only need one more volume to complete the collection.
▪ Complete the sentences using either the simple past or present perfect tense of the verbs.
▷ make up /ˌmeɪk ˈʌp/ [transitive phrasal verb]
to complete a group, set, or amount by adding something or someone to it :
▪ We need two more players to make up the team.
▪ If you haven’t got enough to pay for that, I can make up the difference.
4. not complete
▷ incomplete /ˌɪnkəmˈpliːt◂/ [adjective]
▪ Historical records for this time are incomplete.
▪ an incomplete job application
▪ For many, a good meal is incomplete without a fine wine.
▷ partial /ˈpɑːʳʃ ə l/ [adjective only before noun]
only containing or including part of what is necessary to be complete :
▪ From where I was standing, I had a partial view of the house.
▪ This is only a partial solution to the problem.
▪ At best, the mission was a partial success.
▪ Wade received only partial compensation for her injuries.
▷ patchy /ˈpætʃi/ [adjective]
if something is patchy, it does not include enough information, or important details are missing :
▪ The records are patchy and incomplete.
▪ A patchy picture began to emerge of what happened that night.
▪ My knowledge of the subject is pretty patchy.