Complete, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Completed; p. pr. & vb. n. Completing.]
To bring to a state in which there is no deficiency; to perfect; to consummate; to accomplish; to fulfill; to finish; as, to complete a task, or a poem; to complete a course of education. Bred only and completed to the taste Of lustful appetence. Milton. And, to complete her bliss, a fool for mate. Pope.
Syn. -- To perform; execute; terminate; conclude; finish; end; fill up; achieve; realize; effect; consummate; accomplish; effectuate; fulfill; bring to pass.
1 other Webster entry under this spelling
Complete, a.
1. Filled up; with no part or element lacking; free from deficienty; entire; perfect; consummate. "Complete perfections." Milton. Ye are complete in him. Col. ii. 10. That thou, dead corse, again in complete steel Revesit'st thus the glimpses of the moon. Shak.
2. Finished; ended; concluded; completed; as, the edifice is complete. This course of vanity almost complete. Prior.
3. (Bot.)
Having all the parts or organs which belong to it or to the typical form; having calyx, corolla, stamens, and pistil.
Syn. -- See Whole.
Shades of meaning
Fernald has no entry of its own for complete; he lists it under do, end, perfect, plentiful, radical.
Where he writes about it:
We may say of the least item of daily work, "It is done," and of the grandest human achievement, "Well done!" Finish and complete signify to bring to an end what was previously begun; there is frequently the difference in usage that finish is applied to the fine details and is superficial, while complete is comprehensive, being applied to the whole ideal, plan, and execution; as, to finish a statue; to complete a scheme of philosophy. — from do
As between complete and accomplish, complete considers rather the thing as done; accomplish, the whole process of doing it. — from do
We finish a garment or a letter, complete an edifice or a life-work, consummate a bargain or a crime, discharge a duty, effect a purpose, execute a command, fulfil a promise, perform our daily tasks, realize an ideal, accomplish a design, achieve a victory. — from do
Finish has come to mean, not merely to complete in the essentials, but to perfect in all the minute details, as in the expression "to add the finishing touches." The enumeration is completed; the poem, the picture, the statue is finished. — from end
Complete expresses not excess or overplus, and yet not mere sufficiency, but harmony, proportion, fitness to a design, or ideal. — from plentiful