Standard Lemma guide

unfinished

adj · 6 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /ʌnˈfɪnɪʃt/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: AH0 N F IH1 N IH0 SH T Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Not finished.

Not completed; unresolved.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable

Examples

  • unfinished business
  • unfinished creation

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: incomplete, uncompleted

Antonyms: finished, done, completed, resolved

2

adj

Meaning 2

Not finished.

Not having had any finish or finishing (such as coating or polishing) applied.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable

Examples

  • unfinished furniture

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: finished, coated, varnished, painted, plated, polished

3

adj

Meaning 3

Not finished.

Not having had any finish carpentry and other finishing (such as painting) applied.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable

Examples

  • unfinished basement
  • unfinished attic

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: finished, fitted out

4

adjective

Meaning 4

not brought to an end or conclusion

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • unfinished business
  • the building is still unfinished

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: finished

5

adjective

Meaning 5

not brought to the desired final state

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: finished

6

adjective satellite

Meaning 6

lacking a surface finish such as paint

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • bare wood
  • unfinished furniture

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: bare

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *né Proto-Indo-European *n̥- Proto-Germanic *un- Proto-West Germanic *un- Old English un- Middle English un- English un- English finished English unfinished From un- + finished.

Across languages

Translations

51 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: недовършен (nedovǎršen) — not finished
  • Catalan: inacabat — not finished
  • Catalan: inconclús — not finished
  • Czech: nedokončený — not finished
  • Danish: ufuldendt — not finished
  • Danish: halvfærdigt — not finished
  • Dutch: onaf — not finished
  • Dutch: onafgemaakt — not finished
  • Dutch: onvoltooid — not finished
  • Esperanto: nefinita — not finished
  • Finnish: keskeneräinen — not finished
  • Finnish: valmistumaton — not finished
  • French: inachevé — not finished
  • Galician: inacabado — not finished
  • Galician: inconcluso — not finished
  • German: unvollendet — not finished
  • Greek: ημιτελής (imitelís) — not finished
  • Greek: ατελείωτος (ateleíotos) — not finished
  • Greek: ατέλειωτος (atéleiotos) — not finished
  • Ancient Greek: ἀτελείωτος (ateleíōtos) — not finished
  • Gujarati: અધૂરું (adhūrũ) — not finished
  • Icelandic: ókláraður — not finished
  • Icelandic: ólokinn — not finished
  • Irish: neamhchríochnaithe — not finished
  • Italian: incompleto — not finished
  • Japanese: 未完の (mikan no) — not finished
  • Latin: infectus — not finished
  • Māori: kohuku — not finished
  • Māori: kōkau — not finished
  • Norwegian Bokmål: ufullendt — not finished
  • Norwegian Bokmål: uferdig — not finished
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: ufullenda — not finished
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: uferdig — not finished
  • Occitan: inacabat — not finished
  • Polish: niedokończony — not finished
  • Portuguese: interminado — not finished
  • Portuguese: inacabado — not finished
  • Portuguese: inconcluso — not finished
  • Russian: незако́нченный (nezakónčennyj) — not finished
  • Russian: незавершённый (nezaveršónnyj) — not finished
  • Russian: неоко́нченный (neokónčennyj) — not finished
  • Russian: недоко́нченный (nedokónčennyj) — not finished
  • Sanskrit: अनवपृग्ण (anavapṛgṇa) — not finished
  • Slovak: nedokončený — not finished
  • Spanish: inacabado — not finished
  • Spanish: inconcluso — not finished
  • Swedish: halvfärdig — not finished
  • Telugu: పూర్తికాని (pūrtikāni) — not finished
  • Ukrainian: незакі́нчений (nezakínčenyj) — not finished
  • Ukrainian: незаве́ршений (nezavéršenyj) — not finished
  • Welsh: anorffenedig — not finished
Real reading context

unfinished in complete knowledge articles