Partial meaning

pär'shəl
Having a particular liking or fondness for something or someone.

Partial to spicy food.

adjective
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The definition of partial is something that is incomplete or part of a whole, or to describe something for which you have a liking.

The first chapter of a long book is an example of a partial sample of the book.

When you like fresh flowers, this is an example of a situation where you are partial to fresh flowers.

adjective
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Favoring one person or side over another or others; biased or prejudiced.

A decision that was partial to the plaintiff.

adjective
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A partial derivative.
noun
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Of, being, or affecting only a part; not complete or total.
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noun
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A partial artificial denture.
noun
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Existing as a part or portion; incomplete.

So far, I have only pieced together a partial account of the incident.

adjective
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(computer science) Describing a property that holds only when an algorithm terminates.

It's easy to prove partial correctness, but it's not obvious that it is also totally correct.

adjective
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Biased in favor of a person, side, or point of view, especially when dealing with a competition or dispute.

The referee is blatantly partial!

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(mathematics) A partial derivative: a derivative with respect to one independent variable of a function in multiple variables.
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(music) An overtone or harmonic.
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(dentistry) Dentures that replace only some of the natural teeth.
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Of, relating to, being, or affecting only a part; not total; incomplete.

The plan calls for partial deployment of missiles. The police have only a partial description of the suspect.

adjective
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Of or being operations or sequences of operations, such as differentiation and integration, when applied to only one of several variables at a time.
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Favoring one person, faction, etc. more than another; biased; prejudiced.
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partial to
  • Fond of; having a liking for.
idiom
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Idioms and Phrasal Verbs

Origin of partial

  • Middle English parcial from Old French from Late Latin partiālis from Latin pars part- part part
    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
  • From Old French parcial (“biased or particular"), from Late Latin partialis (“of or pertaining to a part"), from Latin pars (“part").
    From Wiktionary

Partial Sentence Examples

  • Such cell-fusions may be partial or complete.

  • Jones with partial agnosticism.

  • The restored state of Jerusalem lived for about six centuries in partial independence under Persian, Egyptian, Syrian and Roman rule, often showing an aggressively heroic attachment to its national customs, which brought it into collision with its suzerains, until the temple was destroyed by Titus in A.D.

  • "White" elephants are partial or complete albinos, and are far from uncommon in Burma and Siam.

  • Dummler (1877), and a partial translation into German, with an introduction b y W.

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Also Mentioned In

Words near partial in the Dictionary