Meanings
- Not finished.
- not comparableNot completed; unresolved.
unfinished business
5 more examples
unfinished creation
Oh! no mortal could support the horror of that countenance. A mummy again endued with animation could not be so hideous as that wretch. I had gazed on him while unfinished; he was ugly then; but when those muscles and joints were rendered capable of motion, it became a thing such as even Dante could not have conceived.
1817 April/May (date written), [Mary Shelley], chapter IV, in Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus. […], 1st edition, volume I, London: […] [Macdonald and Son] for Lackington, Hughes, Harding, Mavor, & Jones, published 1 January 1818, →OCLC, page 101He showed unparalleled malignity and selfishness, in evil: he destroyed my friends; he devoted to destruction beings who possessed exquisite sensations, happiness, and wisdom; nor do I know where this thirst for vengeance may end. Miserable himself, that he may render no other wretched, he ought to die. The task of his destruction was mine, but I have failed. When actuated by selfish and vicious motives, I asked you to undertake my unfinished work; and I renew this request now, when I am only induced by reason and virtue.
1831 October 31, Mary W[ollstonecraft] Shelley, “Walton, in continuation”, in Frankenstein: Or, The Modern Prometheus (Standard Novels; IX), 3rd edition, London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, […], →OCLC, page 196Holloway has unfinished business in the Premier League after relegation last year and he will make a swift return if he can overcome West Ham a week on Saturday. Sam Allardyce, the West Ham manager, will be acutely aware that when the stakes are high, Blackpool are simply formidable.
2012 May 9, John Percy, “Birmingham City 2 Blackpool 2 (2-3 on agg): match report”, in The Telegraph, archived from the original on 12 May 2012Shannon Downey goes for the unfinished stitching projects.
2019 October 25, Konstantin Toropin, “A woman found an unfinished, 20-year-old quilt and complete strangers are helping piece it together”, in CNN, archived from the original on 29 Oct 2019Synonyms: incomplete, uncompleted · Antonyms: finished, done, completed, resolved
- not comparableNot having had any finish carpentry and other finishing (such as painting) applied.
unfinished attic
1 more example
unfinished basement
Antonyms: finished, fitted out
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveNot completed; unresolved.
adjectiveNot having had any finish or finishing (such as coating or polishing) applied.
adjectiveNot having had any finish carpentry and other finishing (such as painting) applied.
More synonyms by meaning
adjectivenot brought to the desired final state
adjectivenot brought to an end or conclusion
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*né
- Proto-Indo-European*n̥-
- Proto-Germanic*un-
- Proto-West Germanic*un-
- Old Englishun-
- Middle Englishun-
- Englishun-
- Englishfinished
- Englishunfinished
Translations
Ancient Greek ἀτελείωτος
- ἀτελείωτος (ateleíōtos)not finished
Bulgarian недовършен
- недовършен (nedovăršen)not finished
Catalan inacabat, inconclús
- inacabatnot finished
- inconclúsnot finished
Czech nedokončený
- nedokončenýnot finished
Danish ufuldendt, halvfærdigt
- ufuldendtnot finished
- halvfærdigtnot finished
Dutch onaf, onafgemaakt
- onafnot finished
- onafgemaaktnot finished
- onvoltooidnot finished
Esperanto nefinita
- nefinitanot finished
Finnish keskeneräinen, valmistumaton
- keskeneräinennot finished
- valmistumatonnot finished
French inachevé
- inachevénot finished
German unvollendet
- unvollendetnot finished
Greek ημιτελής, ατελείωτος
- ημιτελής (imitelís)not finished
- ατελείωτος (ateleíotos)not finished
- ατέλειωτος (atéleiotos)not finished
Icelandic ókláraður, ólokinn
- ókláraðurnot finished
- ólokinnnot finished
Irish neamhchríochnaithe
- neamhchríochnaithenot finished
Italian incompleto
- incompletonot finished
Japanese 未完の
- 未完の (mikan no)not finished
Latin infectus
- infectusnot finished
Māori kohuku, kōkau
- kohukunot finished
- kōkaunot finished
Norwegian Bokmål ufullendt, uferdig
- ufullendtnot finished
- uferdignot finished
Polish niedokończony
- niedokończonynot finished
Portuguese interminado, inacabado
- interminadonot finished
- inacabadonot finished
- inconclusonot finished
Russian незако́нченный, незавершённый
- незако́нченный (nezakónčennyj)not finished
- незавершённый (nezaveršónnyj)not finished
- неоко́нченный (neokónčennyj)not finished
- недоко́нченный (nedokónčennyj)not finished
Slovak nedokončený
- nedokončenýnot finished
Spanish inacabado, inconcluso
- inacabadonot finished
- inconclusonot finished
Swedish halvfärdig
- halvfärdignot finished
Ukrainian незакі́нчений, незаве́ршений
- незакі́нчений (nezakínčenyj)not finished
- незаве́ршений (nezavéršenyj)not finished
Welsh anorffenedig
- anorffenedignot finished
Cite this entry
unfinished. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/unfinished
“unfinished.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/unfinished. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “unfinished,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/unfinished.
Source: unfinished on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.