as in deficient
lacking some necessary part
an incomplete puzzle that has several pieces missing
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of incomplete
What other cities can learn from Pittsburgh Pittsburgh’s transformation is incomplete, and ongoing.
—
Christopher Briem, The Conversation, 25 Mar. 2026
The podcast aesthetic—casual, long-winded, sometimes profane—directly opposes, perhaps not coincidentally, the sterility and bizarre right-this-minute quality of cable news, on which everything seems incomplete and therefore manipulative, and yet somehow endless.
—Jay Caspian Kang, New Yorker, 24 Mar. 2026
In early March, authorities in Tucuman handed over the incomplete remains of Ramos and Cerrotta to their families.
—Débora Rey, Los Angeles Times, 24 Mar. 2026
At this stage, governments scramble with incomplete information to manage a surging case load, suffering, and death.
—David Blumenthal, STAT, 24 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for incomplete
Christopher Briem, The Conversation, 25 Mar. 2026
The podcast aesthetic—casual, long-winded, sometimes profane—directly opposes, perhaps not coincidentally, the sterility and bizarre right-this-minute quality of cable news, on which everything seems incomplete and therefore manipulative, and yet somehow endless.
—Jay Caspian Kang, New Yorker, 24 Mar. 2026
In early March, authorities in Tucuman handed over the incomplete remains of Ramos and Cerrotta to their families.
—Débora Rey, Los Angeles Times, 24 Mar. 2026
At this stage, governments scramble with incomplete information to manage a surging case load, suffering, and death.
—David Blumenthal, STAT, 24 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for incomplete
Recent Examples of Synonyms for incomplete
Adjective
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Being defensively deficient against the second-best offense in the nation wasn’t a recipe for success.—
Lia Assimakopoulos,
Dallas Morning News,
18 Mar. 2026
-
Drummond asked the court to order the board to issue a new rejection letter detailing all of the reasons the proposal was deficient.—
Asaf Elia-Shalev,
Sun Sentinel,
16 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Top officials at agencies under the DHS umbrella spoke for more than three-hours before the House Homeland Security Committee about the potential risks of security lapses unless the partial government shutdown comes to an end.—
LISA MASCARO,
Arkansas Online,
26 Mar. 2026
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Long lines continue at airports across the country and in Chicago due to the ongoing partial government shutdown, leaving some Transportation Security Administration officers without pay since the lapse in the Department of Homeland Security funding began in February.—
Victor Jacobo,
CBS News,
25 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
The not-yet-finished becomes simply the unfinished.—
Joshua Rothman,
New Yorker,
20 Mar. 2026
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And a debate has emerged over what to do with El Helicoide, an imposing prison in the center of the Caracas that was initially meant to be a futuristic shopping mall, but was left unfinished.—
Manuel Rueda,
NPR,
20 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Hi-hats and snares appear in fragmentary bursts, icy synths precipitate and evaporate, and Zel slithers wryly in the cut.—
Olivier Lafontant,
Pitchfork,
25 Feb. 2026
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As a result, museums around the world hold remarkable artifacts whose backstories are thin, fragmentary or missing altogether.—
Carlo Rindi Nuzzolo,
The Conversation,
13 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
The plume is made of three things: (1) steam - a lot of it; (2) ash - fine, fragmental pieces of silicate glass, not stuff from your backyard BBQ (which is burned carbon); (3) volcanic gases like CO2, SO2, H2S and others.—
Erik Klemetti,
Discover Magazine,
22 May 2011
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This would generate a cloud of hot gases and fragmental volcanic material, which could then move downslope gravitationally.—
Erik Klemetti,
WIRED,
12 Apr. 2011
Cite this Entry
“Incomplete.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/incomplete. Accessed 27 Mar. 2026.
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