Complete vs Thorough - What's the difference?
complete | thorough |
To finish; to make done; to reach the end.
To make whole or entire.
With all parts included; with nothing missing; full.
* {{quote-magazine, year=2012, month=March-April
, author=
, title=Well-connected Brains
, volume=100, issue=2, page=171
, magazine=(American Scientist)
Finished; ended; concluded; completed.
*
, title=(The Celebrity), chapter=5
, passage=In the eyes of Mr. Farquhar Fenelon Cooke the apotheosis of the Celebrity was complete . The people of Asquith were not only willing to attend the house-warming, but had been worked up to the pitch of eagerness. The Celebrity as a matter of course was master of ceremonies.}}
(Generic intensifier).
(analysis, Of a metric space) in which every Cauchy sequence converges.
(algebra, Of a lattice) in which every set with a lower bound has a greatest lower bound.
(math, Of a category) in which all small limits exist.
(logic, of a proof system of a formal system) With respect to a given semantics, that any well-formed formula which is (semantically) valid must also be provable.Sainsbury, Mark [2001] Logical Forms : An Introduction to Philosophical Logic . Blackwell Publishing, Hong Kong (2010), p. 358.
* Gödel's first incompleteness theorem showed that Principia'' could not be both consistent and complete. According to the theorem, for every sufficiently powerful logical system (such as ''Principia''), there exists a statement ''G'' that essentially reads, "The statement ''G'' cannot be proved." Such a statement is a sort of Catch-22: if ''G'' is provable, then it is false, and the system is therefore inconsistent; and if ''G is not provable, then it is true, and the system is therefore incomplete.(w)
painstaking and careful not to miss or omit any detail
utter; complete; absolute
(obsolete) Through.
* , II.xii:
* 1599 , , V. i. 109:
(UK, dialect) A furrow between two ridges, to drain off the surface water.
Thorough is a synonym of complete.
As adjectives the difference between complete and thorough
is that complete is with all parts included; with nothing missing; full while thorough is painstaking and careful not to miss or omit any detail.As a verb complete
is to finish; to make done; to reach the end.As a preposition thorough is
through.As a noun thorough is
a furrow between two ridges, to drain off the surface water.complete
English
Alternative forms
* compleat (archaic)Verb
(complet)- He completed the assignment on time.
- The last chapter completes the book nicely.
Usage notes
* This is a catenative verb that takes the gerund (-ing) . SeeSynonyms
* accomplish * finishAdjective
(en-adj)citation, passage=Creating a complete map of the human connectome would therefore be a monumental milestone but not the end of the journey to understanding how our brains work.}}
Synonyms
* (with everything included) entire, total * (finished) doneAntonyms
* incompleteDerived terms
* bicomplete * cocomplete * completeness * completist * completely * completionExternal links
* *References
Statistics
* 1000 English basic words ----thorough
English
Etymology 1
(etyl) .Alternative forms
* thoroAdjective
(en adjective)- The Prime Minister announced a thorough investigation into the death of a father of two in police custody.
- He is the most thorough worker I have ever seen.
- The infested house needs a thorough cleansing before it will be inhabitable.
- It is a thorough pleasure to see him beg for mercy.
Derived terms
* thoroughbred * thoroughgoing * thoroughlyEtymology 2
A disyllabic form of (etyl) .Preposition
(English prepositions)- Ye might haue seene the frothy billowes fry / Vnder the ship, as thorough them she went [...].
- You are contented to be led in triumph / Thorough the streets of Rome?
Noun
(en noun)- (Halliwell)
