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partial

Syllabification: (par·tial)
Pronunciation: /ˈpärSHəl/
Translate partial | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of partial

adjective

  • 1existing only in part; incomplete:a question to which we have only partial answers
  • 2favoring one side in a dispute above the other; biased:the paper gave a distorted and very partial view of the situation
  • [predic.] (partial to) having a liking for:you know I’m partial to bacon and eggs

noun

Music
  • a component of a musical sound; an overtone or harmonic:the upper partials of the string

Derivatives

partialness

noun

Origin:

late Middle English (in the sense 'inclined to favor one party in a cause'): from Old French parcial (sense 2 of the adjective), French partiel (sense 1 of the adjective), from late Latin partialis, from pars, part- 'part'

partial in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of partial in the British & World English dictionary
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