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

Joining the fray for at least partial ownership of the contracts is the public, nonprofit Jackie Robinson Foundation, launched in 1973 by Robinson’s widow, Rachel Robinson, to perpetuate the memory of her husband.

From Los Angeles Times

Even as he details his adventures, often dangerous, James knows white people will never understand everything he’s trying to say, which is what makes this partial homage a masterpiece in full.

From Los Angeles Times

The judge also granted a partial motion to dismiss several of the claims due to the fact that Daniels worked for the company while on tour in Europe, where American employment laws do not apply.

From BBC

Queen guitarist Brian May says he had a minor stroke ‘out of the blue’ and lost partial use of his arm.

From Los Angeles Times

Dave has uncovered thousands of specimens, ranging from partial dinosaur skeletons to tiny shark teeth.

From Science Daily

Related Words

• one-sided
• unfair