half-finished

IPA/hˈɑːffˈɪnɪʃt/
IPA/hˈæffˈɪnɪʃt/

half-finished — adjective

1. used to describe something that is only partly done, made, or used, so that the

1.adjectiveB1
Definition

used to describe something that is only partly done, made, or used, so that the remaining part is still incomplete or has not been touched or dealt with.

Example

The half-finished bridge stood silent over the river for almost a year.

attributive use before noun

A half-finished painting on the easel caught the visitor's attention.

half-finished + noun describing creative work

Common collocations
  • half-finished meal
  • half-finished project
  • half-finished building
  • half-finished letter
  • half-finished drawing
  • leave something half-finished
  • sit half-finished
Synonyms
  • incomplete

    more formal and general; lacks the specific 'halfway' implication

  • unfinished

    very close in meaning; 'unfinished' can mean not finished at any stage, while 'half-finished' specifies roughly 50 % complete

  • half-done

    informal synonym; less common in writing than 'half-finished'

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

half-finished + noun

be + half-finished

Usage Note

The hyphen is typically retained when the compound appears before a noun (a half-finished manuscript). In predicative position after a linking verb, it is common but not strictly required (the manuscript was half finished). The word often implies that the unfinished state is unsatisfactory or accidental.

Common Mistakes

I ate a half-finished pizza.' (sounds as if the pizza was incompletely made)
I ate half of the pizza.
'half-finished' describes an object that was never completed, not an object that was partially consumed by the speaker.
The project is half-finished, so we have still a lot to do.
The project is half-finished, so we still have a lot to do.
In Chinese-influenced English, 'still' is often misplaced before the main verb.
This is a half-finished job because we ran out of time.
This is a half finished job because we ran out of time.
The hyphen is often dropped in informal writing; in formal writing, use the hyphen before a noun.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

All three words describe something that has not reached its final state. 'Incomplete' is the most formal and general — it suggests that some required part is missing, but not necessarily that the work was interrupted at the halfway point (e.g., an incomplete set of data). 'Unfinished' is the everyday word for anything not brought to an end, whether 10 % or 90 % complete (an unfinished letter, an unfinished conversation). 'Half-finished' is more specific: it implies that approximately half the work is done and that this stage is notable, often because work stopped prematurely. A builder might describe a house as 'half-finished' if the walls are up but there are no windows or doors, whereas they'd call it 'unfinished' if only the foundation had been laid. 'Half-done' is an informal equivalent of 'half-finished' and is more common in speech than in formal writing.

incomplete ↗unfinished ↗half-done

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • leave something half-finished
  • sit half-finished

Etymology

Old EnglishOld FrenchLatinEnglish

A compound of 'half' (from Old English 'healf', meaning 'side, part, half') and 'finished' (from Old French 'finiss-', the stem of 'finir' meaning 'to end, complete', ultimately from Latin 'finire'). The compound has been used in English since at least the 18th century to describe things that are only partially completed.