partial
/ˈpɑɹʃəl/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.17 in modern English
9
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Existing as a part or portion; incomplete.
adj
Describing a property that holds only when an algorithm terminates.
adj
Biased in favor of a person, side, or point of view, especially when dealing with a competition or dispute.
adj
Having a predilection for something.
adj
Of or relating to a partial derivative or partial differential.
adj
adj
Having a wordplay element, but no definition.
noun
A partial derivative: a derivative with respect to one independent variable of a function in multiple variables while holding the other variables constant.
Example Sentences
- "So far, I have only pieced together a partial account of the incident."
- "It's easy to prove partial correctness, but it's not obvious that it is also totally correct."
- "The referee is blatantly partial!"
- "God is not partial; he does not play favorites."
- "17th century, Alexander Pope, a letter partial parent"
- "not partial to an ostentatious display"
Etymology
From Middle English partiall, parcial, from Old French parcial (“biased or particular”), from Late Latin partiālis (“of or pertaining to a part”), from Latin pars (“part”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈpɑɹʃəl/
- British English: /ˈpɑːʃəl/
Usage
Inflected Forms
more partial (comparative)
most partial (superlative)
partials (plural)
partials (present, singular)
participle (US) partialing (present)
partialling (UK, present)
participle (US) partialed (past)
partialled (UK, past)