Unvollständig

Unvollständig is a German adjective meaning not complete or not finished. It describes states, data, documents, or processes that are missing elements or remain incomplete. The term is commonly used in education, research, administration, and everyday language to indicate partial results or information. The opposite is vollständig.

Etymology and grammar: Unvollständig is formed from the prefix un- added to vollständig (complete). Like other adjectives, it is declined to match gender, number, and case. Examples include ein unvollständiger Bericht, eine unvollständige Antwort, ein unvollständiges Dokument; plural: unvollständige Informationen. In phrases with a definite article: der unvollständige Bericht; in indefinite constructions: einen unvollständigen Bericht; without an article: unvollständige Berichte.

Usage: The term is used across contexts such as unvollständige Informationen (missing information), unvollständige Datensätze (incomplete data sets), or der Satz ist unvollständig (the sentence is incomplete). It can describe physical or abstract states, including processes that have not yet reached their final stage or results that are not fully developed.

Related terms: The noun form Unvollständigkeit denotes incompleteness. Vollständigkeit means completeness. Lückenhaft and fragmentarisch are related descriptors for things with gaps or partial content, while teilweise emphasizes partiality.

See also: Vollständigkeit, Unvollständigkeit, Lückenhaft, Fragmentarisch.