partial

[ pahr-shuhl ]

adjective

1. being such in part only; not total or general; incomplete: a partial payment of a debt.

   partial blindness;

   a partial payment of a debt.

   Synonyms: limited, imperfect, unfinished

   Antonyms: complete

2. biased or prejudiced in favor of a person, group, side, etc., over another, as in a controversy:

   a partial witness.

   Synonyms: unjust, unfair, one-sided

   Antonyms: fair, unbiased

3. pertaining to or affecting a part.

   Antonyms: complete

4. being a part; component; constituent.
5. Botany. secondary or subordinate:

   a partial umbel.

noun

1. Bridge. part-score.
2. Acoustics, Music. partial tone.

partial

/ ˈpɑːʃəl /

adjective

1. relating to only a part; not general or complete

   a partial eclipse

2. biased

   a partial judge

3. postpositivefoll byto having a particular liking (for)
4. botany
   1. constituting part of a larger structure

      a partial umbel

   2. used for only part of the life cycle of a plant

      a partial habitat

   3. (of a parasite) not exclusively parasitic
5. maths designating or relating to an operation in which only one of a set of independent variables is considered at a time

noun

1. Also calledpartial tone music acoustics any of the component tones of a single musical sound, including both those that belong to the harmonic series of the sound and those that do not
2. maths a partial derivative

Usage

See partly

Derived Forms

• ˈpartialness, noun
• ˈpartially, adverb

Other Words From

• par·tial·ly adverb
• par·tial·ness noun
• non·par·tial adjective
• o·ver·par·tial adjective
• o·ver·par·tial·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of partial¹

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English parcial “biased, particular,” from Middle French, from Late Latin partiālis “pertaining to a part,” equivalent to Latin parti- (stem of pars ) “piece, portion” + -ālis adjective suffix; part, -al ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of partial¹

C15: from Old French parcial, from Late Latin partiālis incomplete, from Latin pars part

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. partial to, having a liking or preference for; particularly fond of:

   I'm partial to chocolate cake.

Example Sentences

So please accept this partial guide, with the caveat that most of these shows have not been available to preview.

From Los Angeles Times

In the seventh inning of Game 2 of the World Series against the New York Yankees, he suffered a partial dislocation of his left shoulder on a slide into second.

From Los Angeles Times

But even a partial realization of their plans could severely disrupt government services essential for a functioning society, especially if they end up firing federal workers en masse or inducing them to retire.

From Salon

So instead of owning a few shares of an index fund, you might own partial shares in hundreds of different companies.

From Salon

Earlier this year, Paul announced a partial compensation scheme for disappointed investors.

From BBC

Related Words

• one-sided
• unfair