partial

adjective

ˈpär-shəl How to pronounce partial (audio)
Definition of partialnext
1
as in distorted
inclined to favor one side over another that judge is always partial to the defense, so be careful

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in inclined
having a liking or affection partial to chocolate cake

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in incomplete
lacking some necessary part a partial answer to the problem

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of partial Blue Owl Capital — Shares of the alternative asset manager ticked higher by 1% after The Wall Street Journal reported late Friday, citing sources, that investment bankers have approached the company about a potential full or partial sale. — Deena Zaidi,darla Mercado, Cfp®, CNBC, 19 Oct. 2026 Maribeth’s is on Grandma’s old table, where the same three coffee rings from the sixties still make the same old accidental partial Olympic symbol. — George Saunders, New Yorker, 18 Oct. 2026 Soto became the conduit, Day and Haitian sources said, for receiving the Haitian government’s $15 million partial payment on the contract. — Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 17 Oct. 2026 Some, including the state correctional institutions in Cambridge Springs, Dallas, Laurel Highlands, Muncy, Waymart and Huntingdon, the oldest continuously running correctional facility in Pennsylvania, have partial or very limited air conditioning. — Jaquelyn Jahn, The Conversation, 16 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for partial
Recent Examples of Synonyms for partial
  1. distorted
  2. inclined
  3. incomplete
  4. hostile
  5. attached
  6. biased
  7. fond
  8. partisan
Adjective
  • Co-produced by John Congleton, the record swaps synth-pop for gutter-punk, with distorted guitars and clattering surf riffs as its weapons of choice.
    — Zach Schonfeld, Pitchfork, 26 Oct. 2026
  • Obviously, a child who recently suffered a serious head trauma is far from a reliable narrator, and in the premiere, Paley leans into the subjectivity with distorted sound and imagery.
    — Alison Herman, Variety, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of distorted
Adjective
  • There’s a performance aspect to reality television, to people who are politically inclined.
    — Jesse David Fox, Vulture, 23 Oct. 2026
  • If the brand fits that aesthetic, the audience is far more inclined to become the brand’s customers.
    — Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of inclined
Adjective
  • And when records are incomplete, modern tools have the ability to impute missing values and attach a confidence score to each estimate, so the person reviewing the output sees both the conclusion and the margin of uncertainty around it.
    — Amanda Turcotte, Forbes.com, 20 Oct. 2026
  • Documentation can be incomplete, and essential business rules may exist only in the original code.
    — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of incomplete
Adjective
  • About 70% of the members of Brazil’s lower house and 80% of the Senate are considered to be hostile to environmental and climate agendas, according to the observatory.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 22 Oct. 2026
  • In a turnabout from Orbán’s hostile approach to Kyiv, Magyar’s government has expressed solidarity with Ukraine and designated Russia a national security threat.
    — Justin Spike, Los Angeles Times, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of hostile
Adjective
  • What isn’t vintage is mostly custom designed by Levin—a wall-to-wall couch with conversation pit vibes, a wooden bed with an attached bench, a thoughtful floating console that hides a TV.
    — Leonora Epstein, Architectural Digest, 14 Oct. 2026
  • On arrival, first responders learned a fire had begun in an attached garage and was moving into the second floor of the home.
    — Paula Wethington, CBS News, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of attached
Adjective
  • More recently, the Federal Trade Commission has suggested that AI companies that steer answers toward undisclosed ideological or biased objectives might break consumer protection law.
    — Jordi Calvet-Bademunt, The Conversation, 20 Oct. 2026
  • The lawsuit was triggered by Lula’s campaign, which claimed that the company owning Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp was using biased algorithms and AI restrictions to favor Bolsonaro.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of biased
Adjective
  • Cole Knuble has fond memories of the Philadelphia Flyers' home arena from his father, Mike, playing for them during his lengthy career.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 20 Oct. 2026
  • Instead of fond memories of her father, Wynne was filled with dread.
    — Jake Kanter, Deadline, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of fond
Adjective
  • The liberal justice took aim at the conservative majority’s rulings on the Voting Rights Act, campaign finance and partisan gerrymandering.
    — Justin Jouvenal, Washington Post, 21 Oct. 2026
  • But critics accuse chief commissioner Gyanesh Kumar of being partisan to Prime Minister Modi's party.
    — Diaa Hadid, NPR, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of partisan

Phrases Containing partial

Browse Nearby Words

parted (with)
partial
partialities
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Cite this Entry

“Partial.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/partial. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

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