Word family noun completion incompleteness adjective complete ≠ incomplete verb complete adverb completely ≠ incompletely
From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishcompletecom‧plete1 /kəmˈpliːt/ ●●● S2 W1 adjective 1 COMPLETELY[usually before noun] used to emphasize that a quality or situation is as great as it could possibly be SYN total The police were in complete control of the situation. Their engagement came as a complete surprise to me. This is a complete waste of time.a complete fool/idiot etc Meg realized she’d been a complete fool. a complete stranger The darkness was almost complete.2 COMPLETEincluding all parts, details, facts etc and with nothing missing SYN whole OPP incomplete a complete set of china The list below is not complete. the complete works of Shakespeare (=a book, CD etc containing everything Shakespeare wrote)3 [not before noun]FINISH DOING something finished OPP incomplete Work on the new building is nearly complete.4 → complete with something —completeness noun [uncountable] For the sake of completeness I should mention one further argument.Examples from the Corpus
complete• By what date does he believe that the reform of local government will be complete?• I have assumed a complete absence of proofreading.• Older records of births, marriages, and deaths are not as complete as modern ones.• Maybe Mikey Boyd is ready to act like a tree-hugger again after being a complete builder stooge so far this term.• Scientists have unearthed a complete dinosaur skeleton in Montana.• I met Brad Pitt one time and made a complete fool of myself.• Construction of the library is expected to be complete in February.• This is a complete list of educational publishers in Britain.• There are Velcro curtains you can pull around for complete privacy.• A complete safety check was performed on the aircraft prior to takeoff.• Police made a complete search of the area.• The specialist contractor offers a complete service of diagnosis and repair, with guarantees.• When my grandmother died, I inherited a complete set of Dresden china.• The meeting was a complete waste of time.• Classic gothic tale complete with governess heroine, malevolent atmosphere, and forbidding mansion.• Bristly dub on flip, complete with monkey yapping, is a lot better.• The Explorer comes with built-in, 16-bit stereo sound, complete with two speakers and a microphone mounted just above the keyboard.• We gave Vicki the complete works of Shakespeare.complete stranger• Would you leave him/her with a complete stranger?• They argue with complete strangers a lot.• It was the perfect excuse for ringing up complete strangers and asking all sort of personal questions.• Malouf is fascinated by the sometimes violent impact that complete strangers can have upon our lives.• Christmas cards from hundreds of friends - and even more from complete strangers praying for his recovery - covered the walls.• She was worse than Doreen, telling complete strangers the entire family history.• A nail-biting finish, but finally won by Moira Creek at her first attempt and a complete stranger to Pooh culture.• In Usenet, you're a complete stranger until you post.the complete works of• However, it was possible to tell that the library contained the complete works of Epicurus.• Shelves are devoted to displaying the complete works of individual authors.• Planned for 1993 is a monograph reviewing the complete works of Jusepe de Ribera by Nicola Spinosa.• She knew the complete works of Mrs Cattermole as part of her own soul.• We gave Vicki the complete works of Plato as a present.completecomplete2 ●●● S2 W1 verb [transitive] 1 FINISH DOING somethingto finish doing or making something, especially when it has taken a long time Students must complete the course. The building took two years to complete.► see thesaurus at finish2 COMPLETEto make something whole or perfect by adding what is missing The child’s task was to complete the sentences. I need one more stamp to complete the set.3 to write the information that is needed on a form SYN fill out In all, more than 650 people completed the questionnaire. Send your completed form to the following address.→ See Verb tableExamples from the Corpus
complete• The firm now employs 14 solicitors and associates, who are completing 10-15 house purchases every day.• The book took five years to complete.• The novel wasn't published until 40 years after it was completed.• The complex, begun in 1970, was completed in 1986.• The building is likely to be completed in two year's time.• The maker of hair-care and other personal-care products recently completed its first year under a younger generation of family managers.• I need one more stamp to complete my collection.• We will order and complete the fourth Trident submarine.• Brown lace leggings and black leather shoes completed the outfit.• Scholarships will help more students to complete the program within two years.• Once you've completed the questionnaire , put it in the blue box.• Complete the sentences using either the simple past or present perfect tense of the verbs.• The length of the time that the occupational therapists take to complete their investigations is also down to about three months.• The venturer who successfully completes this abc journey will have experienced a logical but unexciting event.• Richard Seifert's NatWest Tower, which has suffered superficial damage, looks 1960s but was not completed until 1981.Origin complete1 (1300-1400) Old French complet, from Latin, past participle of complere “to fill up”, from com- ( → COM-) + plere “to fill” 