Complete

Part of speech: adjective, verb

Pronunciation: /kəmˈpliːt/

Definitions

1. Containing all necessary parts, elements, or steps; finished or whole with nothing missing
2. Having all components required for functionality
3. finalized without any omissions or gaps in content

Etymology: The word "complete" carries a Latin root that is hiding in plain sight in a family of English words. Its Latin source, "compleo," meant "to fill up," built from "com-" (an intensifying prefix, roughly "together" or "thoroughly") and "pleo," "to fill." So at its core, to be complete was to be filled all the way through, with nothing left empty. That same filling sense runs through several familiar relatives. "Deplete" is to empty out, "replete" is to be full up, and "plenty" comes from the same stem. "Complement" and "compliment" also descend from "compleo," which is why they look so similar, though their meanings split apart over time: a complement fills out something else, while a compliment was once a formal courtesy. The English form descends from Middle English "compleet," meaning "full" or "complete," which was taken in from Old French "complet" or directly from Latin "completus," the past participle of "compleo." The same Proto-Indo-European root that gave English "full" also lies behind this family.

Synonyms: whole, entire, finished, total, full

Antonyms: incomplete, partial, unfinished