nonexhaustiveness

Nonexhaustiveness is the property of a statement, list, or classification that does not claim to cover all possibilities or members of a domain. It stands in contrast to exhaustiveness, where the set of items or cases is intended to be complete. Nonexhaustiveness is often signaled by qualifiers such as among others, and more, or by explicit statements that a list is not exhaustive.

In language and semantics, nonexhaustive lists convey partial coverage. For example, "The conference featured researchers from the United States, Germany, and Spain" might be nonexhaustive if other participants were present but not listed. Phrases such as among others or including but not limited to explicitly indicate nonexhaustiveness.

In logic and mathematics, nonexhaustiveness can refer to statements or models that do not enumerate all possible cases. A nonexhaustive disjunction or a nonexhaustive partition acknowledges that additional cases exist beyond those mentioned. This concept matters when modeling real-world situations where completeness cannot be guaranteed.

In research and data collection, nonexhaustiveness describes limits on coverage. A literature review may be nonexhaustive due to time or access constraints, and a sample may be nonexhaustive if it does not aim to include every instance in the population. Such approaches are typically accompanied by caveats about scope and potential biases.

The term also appears in documentation, software, and categorization to indicate partial listings. Clear signaling of nonexhaustiveness helps readers avoid assuming completeness.