What does partial mean?
Word: Partial
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Partial means only part of something, not complete. It can also mean unfairly favouring one side or person.
Synonyms: incomplete, biased
Antonyms: total
How do you spell partial?
Syllables: par - tial
Tricky part: Say it aloud and you hear shul at the end, yet it is spelt tial. Parshal is what many young writers try.
Watch out for: parshal, partiel, parsial
Memory tip: In partial the t is a whisperer: it is written t but says sh, just as it does in initial and potential.
Idioms and Phrases
- be partial to: To like something very much. Example: "My grandfather is partial to hot jalebis on a rainy day."
Partial in a sentence
Example 1: We could see only a partial view of the stage from the back row.
Example 2: Some fans felt the referee was partial to the home team.
Example 3: Only partial work has been done on the new bridge, so it is still not open.
Fun Fact
In a partial solar eclipse, the Moon covers only part of the Sun, so the Sun looks as if a bite has been taken out of it.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Connection
Choose the antonym of the word: partial
a) simple
b) limited
c) careful
d) complete
Show answer
d) complete. Partial means only a part, while complete means the whole thing.
Word Makeup
Choose the prefix that completes the word:
partial
a) im
b) dis
c) in
d) un
Show answer
a) im. Im + partial gives impartial; im comes before p, as in impossible and impatient.
Word Cookie
Find the misspelt word in the sentence:
Mitali gave only a partial answer to the thrid question in the test.
a) question
b) Mitali
c) partial
d) thrid
Show answer
d) thrid. Third has the i before the r, the same as first and bird.
Mingle-Mangle
Form a meaningful word from the jumbled letters:
laitpar
a) martial
b) partial
c) portal
d) particle
Show answer
b) partial. Particle needs a c and an e, portal an o and martial an m, so the seven letters make partial.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. A judge in a singing contest should not be partial. This means the judge should ____.
a) finish judging quickly
b) treat every singer the same
c) give low marks to everyone
d) listen to only one song
Show answer
b) treat every singer the same
2. Rohan got partial marks for his answer. He got ____.
a) extra marks
b) none of the marks
c) some of the marks
d) all of the marks
Show answer
c) some of the marks
