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PlainSpell

partial

par·tial/ˈpɑɹʃəl/adjective, noun, verb

partial is spelled P-A-R-T-I-A-L: 7 letters and 2 syllables (par·tial). It appears 15 times per million words in written English, the 5,407th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, partial means “Existing as a part or portion; incomplete” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).

How many letters and syllables are in partial?

Letters7: P-A-R-T-I-A-L
Syllables2: par·tial
In writing15 times per million words; the 5,407th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Rhymes with

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is partial?

Partial appears 15 times per million words in written English, the 5,407th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce partial?

  • US /ˈpɑɹʃəl/
  • UK /ˈpɑːʃəl/

Partial has 2 syllables, split par·tial in writing.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-NaomiAmethyst-partial.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-partial.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

What rhymes with partial?

2 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as partial from its last stressed vowel (/ɑɹʃəl/):

Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).

Forms of partial

  • more partial comparative
  • most partial superlative
  • partials plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • partialling UK, present
  • partialled UK, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does partial mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

adjective

  1. 1

    Existing as a part or portion; incomplete.

    So far, I have only pieced together a partial account of the incident.

  2. 2

    Describing a property that holds only when an algorithm terminates.

    It's easy to prove partial correctness, but it's not obvious that it is also totally correct.

  3. 3

    Biased in favor of a person, side, or point of view, especially when dealing with a competition or dispute.

    The referee is blatantly partial!

  4. 4

    Having a predilection for something.

    of

  5. 5

    Of or relating to a partial derivative or partial differential.

  6. 6

    Subordinate.

  7. 7

    Having a wordplay element, but no definition.

noun

  1. 1

    A partial derivative: a derivative with respect to one independent variable of a function in multiple variables while holding the other variables constant.

  2. 2

    Any of the sine waves which make up a complex tone; often an overtone or harmonic of the fundamental.

  3. 3

    dentures that replace only some of the natural teeth

  4. 4

    An incomplete fingerprint

  5. 5

    A fragment of a template containing markup.

  6. 6

    A repetition of an exercise during which the range of motion (amplitude) is not maximized.

  7. 7

    slangA fursuit that does not fully cover the wearer's body.

verb

  1. 1

    To take the partial regression coefficient.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Partial in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchpartiel (existing in part), partial (biased), attiré (having a predilection for something)
Germanteilweise, partiell (existing in part), parteiisch, voreingenommen (biased)
Portugueseparcial (existing in part)
Spanishparcial (existing in part), tendencioso (biased), que le gusta, que tiene debilidad por (having a predilection for something)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does partial come from?

From Middle English partiall, parcial, from Old French parcial (“biased or particular”), from Late Latin partiālis (“of or pertaining to a part”), from Latin pars (“part”).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after partial