adj.com·plet·er,com·plet·est

tr.v.com·plet·ed,com·plet·ing,com·pletes

[Middle Englishcomplet, from Latincomplētus, past participle ofcomplēre,to fill out :com-,intensive pref.; see com- +plēre,to fill; seepelə- inIndo-European roots.]

Synonyms: complete, finish, close, end, conclude, terminate
These verbs mean to bring to a natural or proper stopping point.Complete andfinish suggest the final stage in an undertaking:"Nothing worth doing is completed in our lifetime" (Reinhold Niebuhr)."Give us the tools, and we will finish the job" (Winston S. Churchill).
Close andend both imply bringing something ongoing to a conclusion:The band closed the concert with an encore. We ended the meal with fruit and cheese. End can also mean putting a stop to something, often with finality:"Many advocates say[putting] laptops in schools is a promising way to end the digital divide between the races" (Char Simons)."It left him more exposed than ever, forcing him to end the career he loved" (Molly Worthen).
Conclude is more formal thanclose andend: The author concluded the article by restating the major points. Terminate suggests reaching an established limit:The playing of the national anthem terminated the station's broadcast for the night. It also indicates the dissolution of a formal arrangement:The firm terminated my contract yesterday.

Usage Note: Althoughcomplete is often held to be an absolute term likeperfect orchief, and supposedly not subject to comparison, it is often modified by words likemore andlessin standard usage. As far back as 1965, a majority of the Usage Panel accepted the exampleHis book is the most complete treatment of the subject. See Usage Note at absolute.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.