complete

com|plete¹ W1S2 [kəmˈpli:t] adj

[Date: 1300-1400; : Old French; Origin: complet, from Latin, past participle of complere 'to fill up', from com- ( COM-) + plere 'to fill']

1.) [usually before noun]

used to emphasize that a quality or situation is as great as it could possibly be

= ↑total

▪ The police were in complete control of the situation.

▪ Their engagement came as a complete surprise to me.

▪ This is a complete waste of time .

a complete fool/idiot etc

▪ Meg realized she'd been a complete fool.

▪ a complete stranger

▪ The darkness was almost complete.

2.) including all parts, details, facts etc and with nothing missing

= ↑whole

≠ ↑incomplete

▪ a complete set of china

▪ The list below is not complete.

▪ the complete works of Shakespeare (=a book, CD etc containing everything Shakespeare wrote)

3.) [not before noun]

finished

≠ ↑incomplete

▪ Work on the new building is nearly complete.

4.) complete with sth

having particular equipment or features

▪ The house comes complete with swimming pool and sauna.

>completeness n [U]

▪ For the sake of completeness I should mention one further argument.

complete ²

complete² W1S2 v [T]

1.) to finish doing or making something, especially when it has taken a long time

▪ The students have just completed their course.

▪ The building took two years to complete.

2.) to make something whole or perfect by adding what is missing

▪ The child's task was to complete the sentences.

▪ I need one more stamp to complete the set.

3.) to write the information that is needed on a form

= ↑fill out

▪ In all, more than 650 people completed the questionnaire.

▪ Send your completed form to the following address.