partial

adjective par·tial \ ˈpär-shəl \

|Updated on: 10 Jun 2018

Examples: partial in a Sentence

Definition of partial

1 : of or relating to a part rather than the whole : not general or total

a partial solution

a partial payment

2 : inclined to favor one party more than the other : biased

it is inconsistent with justice to be partial
—J. S. Mill

3 : markedly fond of someone or something —used with to

partial to pizza

She's partial to tall men with blond hair.

See partial defined for English-language learners

See partial defined for kids

Examples of partial in a Sentence

These plants prefer full sun or partial shade.
The partial ban on immigration has been lifted.
His latest play was deemed only a partial success by the critics.
a partial eclipse of the sun
He wears a partial denture.
She suggested a partial solution to the problem.
A referee must not be partial toward either team.

Recent Examples of partial from the Web

Revenue from wagering in casinos would go to the state’s casino revenue fund, with a partial amount going to Atlantic City’s marketing program; funds from racetrack betting would go to the state general fund.

— andrew seidman, Philly.com, "New Jersey legislature passes sports-betting law. Could betting start Friday?," 7 June 2018
Although some customers may have paid partial deposits, others had already handed over the full fare.

— rebekah l. sanders, azcentral, "Cruise company sails away with Mesa couple's $10,000," 7 June 2018
But there should be at least some partial clearing at the coast.

— robert krier, sandiegouniontribune.com, "'Veil' should lift along the coast," 6 June 2018
Meanwhile, the partial privatization of Ethiopian Airlines comes as the carrier rolls out ambitious growth plans.

— matina stevis-gridneff, WSJ, "Ethiopia Opens Door to the World With Unprecedented Privatization Plan," 6 June 2018
Another time, in Atlantic City, Shulaya himself confronted a debtor, who then provided a $3,000 necklace as partial repayment.

— garrett graff, Longreads, "A Vor Never Sleeps," 5 June 2018
After failing to show anything particularly special in partial seasons in 2016 and 2017, the 25-year-old has broken out in 2018.

— si.com staff, SI.com, "Nine Innings: The Indians' Surprisingly Bad Bullpen, the State of the NL West and Culberson's Magic," 4 June 2018
There’s no good explanation of why this shift took place, but Depression-era ink shortages might offer a partial rationale.

— jennifer billock, The Atlantic, "Why Do People Sign Yearbooks?," 3 June 2018
The district is still paying Wahl's $209,000 salary and partial benefits through June 30, per the terms of his resignation agreement.

— emma kate fittes, Indianapolis Star, "Carmel Clay Schools' new superintendent says he's the 'luckiest guy on the planet'," 1 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'partial.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of partial

Middle English parcial, from Late Latin partialis, from Latin part-, pars part

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

partial Synonyms

partial

noun

Definition of partial

: overtone 1a

Recent Examples of partial from the Web

We time-stretched the sound of the woodblock and zoomed into the partials and spectra of a single woodblock stroke — just a millisecond of sound — and opened it up and basically unfolded the whole piece from there.

— jon pareles, New York Times, "Mouse on Mars at M.I.T.: A Symposium Becomes a Dance Party," 12 Mar. 2018

Origin and Etymology of partial

see ¹partial

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1873

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

Other Music Terms

cacophony, chorister, concerto, counterpoint, madrigal, obbligato, presto, refrain, riff, segue

PARTIAL Defined for English Language Learners

partial

adjective

Definition of partial for English Language Learners

: not complete or total
: tending to treat one person, group, or thing better than another

PARTIAL Defined for Kids

partial

adjective par·tial \ ˈpär-shəl \

Definition of partial for Students

1 : not complete

a partial success

a partial eclipse

2 : favoring one side of a question over another

I'm too partial to be a fair judge.

3 : fond or too fond of someone or something

Grandma is partial to ice cream sodas.

—

partially

\ˈpär-shə-lē\ adverb

Word Root of partial

The Latin word pars, meaning “part,” and its form partis give us the root part. Words from the Latin pars have something to do with a part, section, or portion. To participate is to take part in some activity. Anything partial involves only part of something. A particle is a tiny bit or portion of something. It is easy to see that part itself also comes directly from pars in both form and meaning.