Full — Meaning, Definition & Synonyms

adjective adverb noun verb /ˈfu̇l/

Meaning & Definition of Full

Full (adjective)

  1. containing as much or as many as is possible or normal —often used with of
  2. complete especially in detail, number, or duration
  3. lacking restraint, check, or qualification

Full (adverb)

  1. very, extremely
  2. entirely
  3. straight, squarely

Full (noun)

  1. the highest or fullest state or degree
  2. the utmost extent

Full (verb)

  1. to become full
  2. to make full in sewing
  3. to shrink and thicken (woolen cloth) by moistening, heating, and pressing

Full (adjective) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. containing or seeming to contain the greatest quantity or number possible

    "at the start of the game everyone was full of energy and hope"

    "the boy's bedroom is full of sports trophies and medals"

    similar: brimful, brimming, bursting, chockablock, chock-full, crammed, crowded, fat, filled, jammed, jam-packed, loaded, packed, stuffed
    related: overcrowded, overfilled, overflowing, overfull, overladen, overloaded, overstuffed, abounding, flush, fraught, replete, rife, swarming, teeming
    opposite: bare, blank, devoid, empty, stark, vacant, void
    near: deficient, inadequate, incomplete, insufficient, short, shortish, shy, wanting, depleted, drained, exhausted

  2. of the highest degree

    "even at the age of eighteen he hadn't reached his full height"

    "a boat going at full speed"

    similar: greatest, maximum, top, topmost, utmost, utter
    related: heightened, high
    opposite: least, littlest, lowest, minimal, minimum, slightest
    near: lessened, low

  3. having one's appetite completely satisfied

    "even the heartiest eaters are sure to be full when they leave that restaurant"

    similar: replete, sated, satiate, satiated, stuffed, surfeited
    related: glutted, gorged, overfed, overfull, overstuffed
    opposite: empty, famished, hungry, starved, starving
    near: underfed, undernourished

  4. covering everything or all important points

    "a full analysis of the problems facing our cities today"

    similar: all-embracing, all-in (chiefly British), all-inclusive, broad-gauge, compendious, complete, comprehensive, cover-all, cyclopedic, embracive, encyclopedic, exhaustive, global, in-depth, inclusive, omnibus, panoramic, thorough, universal
    related: broad, catholic, encyclical, general, inclusionary, overall, cosmic, extensive, far, far-reaching, grand, large, panoptic, sweeping, vast, wide, wide-ranging, blanket, indiscriminate, unrestricted
    near: circumscribed, limited, narrow, restricted, specialized, exact, precise, individual, singular, specific, incomplete, patchy, sketchy

  5. having an abundance of some characteristic quality (as flavor)

    "the dessert had a rich, full chocolate flavor"

    similar: big, concentrated, full-bodied, heady, lusty, muscular, plush, potent, rich, robust, strong
    related: heavy, straight, undiluted, unmixed, high-octane, high-test, enriched, fortified
    opposite: delicate, light, mild, thin, thinned, weak, weakened
    near: dilute, diluted, watered-down, watery

  6. having an excess of body fat

    "she should have a hairdo that complements her full face"

    similar: blubbery, chubby, corpulent, fat, fleshy, gross, lardy, obese, overweight, plump, podgy (chiefly British), portly, pudgy, replete, roly-poly, rotund, round, tubby
    related: beefy, bulky, chunky, heavy, heavyset, plumpish, stocky, stout, thick, thickset, weighty, brawny, burly, hefty, husky, dumpy, squat, stubby, hippy, paunchy, potbellied, flabby, soft, ample, buxom, corn-fed, ripe, zaftig, endomorphic
    opposite: lean, skinny, slender, slim, spare, thin
    near: angular, bony, gaunt, lank, lanky, rawboned, sinewy, cadaverous, emaciated, haggard, pinched, skeletal, wasted, puny, scraggy, scrawny, slight, rangy, reedy, spindling, spindly, stringy, svelte, sylphlike, twiggy, waspish, weedy, willowy, ectomorphic, anorexic

  7. including many small descriptive features

    "a very full description of the city's cultural offerings"

    similar: blow-by-blow, circumstantial, detailed, elaborate, minute, particular, particularized, thorough
    related: enumerated, inventoried, itemized, listed, numerated, delineated, specific, specified, abundant, copious, comprehensive, encyclopedic, exhausting, exhaustive, inclusionary, inclusive, in-depth, omnibus, panoramic, thoroughgoing, accurate, correct, exact, precise, complete, entire, replete, distinct, explicit, sharp, mapped (out), descriptive, graphic, picturesque, vivid
    opposite: compendious, summary
    near: brief, compact, concise, crisp, pithy, short, succinct, terse, abbreviated, abridged, curtailed, cut, pruned, shortened, trimmed, ambiguous, indeterminate, nebulous, nondescript, sketchy, vague, bird's-eye, broad, general, nonspecific, overall, unspecified

  8. not lacking any part or member that properly belongs to it

    "a full deck of cards"

    similar: compleat, complete, comprehensive, entire, grand, intact, integral, perfect, plenary, total, whole
    related: unabridged, uncut, undiminished, all-out, exhaustive, extensive, maximal, full-blooded, full-blown, full-bore, full-fledged, full-on, full-out, full-scale
    opposite: imperfect, incomplete, partial
    near: abbreviated, abridged, cut, diminished, reduced

Full (adverb) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. to a full extent or degree

    "waited until it was full dark to launch the attack"

    similar: all, all of, all over, altogether, clean, completely, dead, enough, entire, entirely, even, exactly, fast, flat, fully, heartily, out, perfectly, plumb (chiefly dialect), quite, soundly, thoroughly, through and through, totally, utterly, well, wholly, wide, all the way, at length, down the line, down to the ground, for fair, in whole, to bits, to pieces, to the hilt, to the max
    related: absolutely, categorically, cold, downright, hands down, plain, stone, stone-cold, unqualifiedly, basically, by and large, chiefly, generally, largely, mainly, more or less, mostly, overall, predominantly, predominately, primarily, principally, substantially, abundantly, copiously, generously, greatly
    opposite: half, halfway, incompletely, part, partially, partly
    near: barely, hardly, just, kind of, marginally, minimally, scarcely, slightly, superficially, approximately, roughly, somewhat

  2. to a great degree

    "he knew full well that what he was doing was wrong"

    similar: achingly, almighty, archly, awful, awfully, badly, beastly, blisteringly, bone, colossally, corking, cracking, damn, damned, dang, deadly, desperately, eminently, enormously, especially, ever, exceedingly, extra, extremely, fabulously, fantastically, far, fiercely, filthy, frightfully, greatly, heavily, highly, hugely, immensely, incredibly, intensely, jolly, majorly, mightily, mighty, monstrous (chiefly dialect), mortally, most, much, particularly, passing, rattling, real, really, right, roaring, roaringly, seriously, severely, so, sore, sorely, spanking, specially, stinking, such, super, supremely, surpassingly, terribly, that, thumping, too, unco, uncommonly, vastly, very, vitally, way, whacking, wicked, wildly, a lot, as all get-out, good and
    related: absolutely, altogether, completely, downright, entirely, flat-out, fully, positively, purely, radically, thoroughly, totally, utterly, wholly, deeply, profoundly, exceptionally, notably, remarkably, considerably, extensively, significantly, substantially, appreciably, discernibly, markedly, noticeably, obviously, palpably, plainly, visibly, abundantly, plentifully, astronomically, grandly, monstrously, monumentally, excessively, obscenely, overmuch, amazingly, astonishingly, staggeringly
    opposite: little, negligibly, nominally, slightly, somewhat
    near: meagerly, scantily, barely, hardly, just, marginally, minimally, scarcely

  3. as stated or indicated without the slightest difference

    "full in the center of the square stands an enormous statue of the city's founder"

    similar: due, exactly, just, precisely, right, sharp, smack-dab, squarely, on the button, on the nose

Full (noun) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. a complete amount of something

    "the account is now paid in full"

    similar: aggregate, sum, sum total, summation, total, totality, whole, grand total, the whole bit, the whole kit and caboodle, the whole nine yards, the whole shebang
    related: gross, completeness, comprehensiveness, cumulativeness, entirety, bulk, lion's share, mass, enchilada, schmear
    near: net

Related Entry: Full blast (adverb)

Full blast is a different word from Full. The synonyms below are for full blast, not for full.

  1. with all power or resources being used

    "the unsuspecting parents arrived home to find the stereo going full blast and the kitchen a mess"

    similar: all out, full tilt, tooth and nail, full steam ahead, in full career, like crazy, to the hilt
    related: completely, comprehensively, detailedly, exhaustively, fully, minutely, roundly, thoroughly, totally, extremely, utterly

Related Entry: Full-blood (adjective)

Full-blood is a different word from Full. The synonyms below are for full-blood, not for full.

  1. of unmixed ancestry

    "her ancestry is full-blood Irish"

    similar: blooded, full-blooded, pedigreed, pure-blooded, purebred, thoroughbred
    related: well-bred, inbred
    opposite: hybrid, mixed, mongrel
    near: crossbred, crossed, half-blood, half-bred, hybridized, interbred, outcrossed

Related Entry: Full-blooded (adjective)

Full-blooded is a different word from Full. The synonyms below are for full-blooded, not for full.

  1. of unmixed ancestry

    "a full-blooded American Indian"

    similar: blooded, full-blood, pedigreed, pure-blooded, purebred, thoroughbred
    related: well-bred, inbred
    opposite: hybrid, mixed, mongrel
    near: crossbred, crossed, half-blood, half-bred, hybridized, interbred, outcrossed

  2. having a healthy reddish skin tone

    "had the full-blooded complexion of a rugged outdoorsman"

    similar: blooming, florid, flush, glowing, red, rosy, rubicund, ruddy, sanguine
    related: bronzed, brown, suntanned, tanned, bloomy, blowsy, blushing, flushed, pink, pinkish, warm, cherubic
    opposite: ashen, ashy, doughy, livid, lurid, mealy, pale, paled, palish, pallid, pasty, peaked, peaky, sallow, sallowish, wan
    near: waxen, waxy, blanched, white, whitened, anemic, sick, sickly, bloodless, cadaverous, whey-faced, white-faced

  3. marked by or uttered with forcefulness

    "mounted a full-blooded attack on his opponent's position regarding immigration"

    similar: aggressive, assertive, dynamic, emphatic, energetic, forceful, muscular, resounding, strenuous, vehement, vigorous, violent
    related: decided, insistent, marked, pointed, absolute, categorical, clear, plain, unambiguous, unequivocal, arresting, compelling, conspicuous, impelling, noticeable, striking
    opposite: nonassertive, nonemphatic, unemphatic
    near: guarded, mild, uncompelling, weak, wishy-washy, ambiguous, equivocal, halting, hesitant, understated

Related Entry: Full-blown (adjective)

Full-blown is a different word from Full. The synonyms below are for full-blown, not for full.

  1. fully grown or developed

    "before he became a full-blown literary sensation, he wrote articles for little journals that paid even littler money"

    similar: adult, full-fledged, mature, matured, ripe, ripened
    related: aged, aging, long-lived, old, older, golden, mellow
    opposite: adolescent, green, immature, juvenile, unripe, unripened, young, youngish, youthful
    near: blooming, blossoming, burgeoning, flourishing, flowering, undeveloped, unfinished, unfledged, unformed

Related Entry: Full-bodied (adjective)

Full-bodied is a different word from Full. The synonyms below are for full-bodied, not for full.

  1. having an abundance of some characteristic quality (as flavor)

    "after that huge Sunday brunch, everyone needed a full-bodied coffee"

    similar: big, concentrated, full, heady, lusty, muscular, plush, potent, rich, robust, strong
    related: heavy, straight, undiluted, unmixed, high-octane, high-test, enriched, fortified
    opposite: delicate, light, mild, thin, thinned, weak, weakened
    near: dilute, diluted, watered-down, watery

Related Entry: Full dress (noun)

Full dress is a different word from Full. The synonyms below are for full dress, not for full.

  1. dressy clothing

    "suburban teens in full dress for the prom at the country club"

    similar: array, best, bravery, caparison, feather, finery, frippery, gaiety, glad rags, regalia, best bib and tucker
    related: apparel, attire, costume, duds, habiliment(s), rags, raiment, rig, rigging, threads, toggery, togs, vestiary, vesture, wear
    near: tatters, disarray, dishabille

Related Entry: Full-fledged (adjective)

Full-fledged is a different word from Full. The synonyms below are for full-fledged, not for full.

  1. fully grown or developed

    "it was years before he became a full-fledged star"

    similar: adult, full-blown, mature, matured, ripe, ripened
    related: aged, aging, long-lived, old, older, golden, mellow
    opposite: adolescent, green, immature, juvenile, unripe, unripened, young, youngish, youthful
    near: blooming, blossoming, burgeoning, flourishing, flowering, undeveloped, unfinished, unfledged, unformed

Synonyms, Thesaurus & Another Word for Full

The most common words with a similar meaning to Full:

Chiefly British: all-in, podgy
Chiefly dialect: plumb, monstrous
brimful, brimming, bursting, chockablock, chock-full, crammed, crowded, fat, filled, jammed, jam-packed, loaded, packed, stuffed, greatest, maximum, top, topmost, utmost, utter, replete, sated, satiate, satiated, surfeited, all-embracing, all-inclusive, broad-gauge, compendious, complete, comprehensive, cover-all, cyclopedic, embracive, encyclopedic, exhaustive, global, in-depth, inclusive, omnibus

Antonyms & Opposite Words for Full

Words with the opposite meaning of Full:

bare, blank, devoid, empty, stark, vacant, void, least, littlest, lowest, minimal, minimum, slightest, famished, hungry, starved, starving, delicate, light, mild, thin, thinned, weak, weakened, lean, skinny, slender, slim, spare, compendious

Related Words for Full

overcrowded, overfilled, overflowing, overfull, overladen, overloaded, overstuffed, abounding, flush, fraught, rife, swarming, teeming, heightened, high, glutted, gorged, overfed, broad, catholic, encyclical, general, inclusionary, overall, cosmic, extensive, far-reaching, large, panoptic, sweeping

Near Antonyms of Full

deficient, inadequate, insufficient, short, shortish, shy, wanting, depleted, drained, exhausted, lessened, low, underfed, undernourished, circumscribed, limited, narrow, restricted, specialized, exact, precise, individual, singular, specific, patchy, sketchy, dilute, diluted, watered-down, watery

Word Forms of Full

Inflections: fulled, fulling, fulls

Origin & Etymology of Full

Middle English ful, full, fol, going back to Old English full, going back to Germanic *fulla- (whence also Old Frisian ful, fol "full," Old Saxon full, Middle Dutch vol, Old High German fol, Old Icelandic fullr, Gothic fulls), going back to Indo-European *pl̥h1nó-, verbal adjective from the base *pleh1- "become full," whence also Old Irish lán "full," Welsh llawn (with length secondary if the proposed law shortening pretonic vowels in Celtic is valid), Latin plēnus (with -ē- from -plēre "to fill"), Old Church Slavic plĭnŭ, Russian pólnyj, Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian pȕn, Lithuanian pìlnas, Sanskrit pūrṇáḥ, Avestan pərəna-; *pleh1- appears with varying ablaut and suffixation in Latin plēre "to fill" (from *plēi̯e-), verbal adjective plētus, Greek pímplēmi "(I) fill," plêto "(it) has become full," Armenian lnowm "(I) fill," Sanskrit pr̥ṇā́ti "(s/he) fills"

First known use: before 12th century

Vocabulary Lists & Topics for Full

Words & Phrases Containing Full

full blast, full-blood, full-blooded, full-blown

Frequently Asked Questions about Full

What does "Full" mean?

"Full" means containing as much or as many as is possible or normal —often used with of. As an an adjective, an adverb, a noun and a verb, it is defined as: containing as much or as many as is possible or normal —often used with of. It has 12 distinct senses.

What is another word for "Full"?

Other words for "Full" include brimful, brimming, bursting, chockablock, chock-full, crammed, crowded and fat. The best synonym depends on which meaning of "Full" you intend.

What are different ways to say "Full"?

There are 394 words and phrases with a similar meaning to "Full". Common alternatives include brimful, brimming, bursting, chockablock, chock-full, crammed, crowded, fat, filled and jammed.

What is the opposite of "Full"?

Antonyms of "Full" include bare, blank, devoid, empty, stark, vacant, void and least. Near antonyms include deficient, inadequate, insufficient and short.

How do you use "Full" in a sentence?

Examples of "Full" in a sentence: "at the start of the game everyone was full of energy and hope"; "the boy's bedroom is full of sports trophies and medals"; "even at the age of eighteen he hadn't reached his full height".

Is "Full" a noun, verb, or adjective?

"Full" can be used as an adjective, an adverb, a noun and a verb, depending on the context.

Is "Full" useful for IELTS, TOEFL, and other English exams?

As an A1-level word, "Full" is typical of Cambridge A1 Movers (Young Learners), TOEIC Listening & Reading 120+.

How do you pronounce "Full"?

"Full" is pronounced /ˈfu̇l/.