Complete or Completed

Question

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Should I say “Your order is now complete” or “Your order is now completed”?

What is better, "complete" or "completed"?

I want to know which sounds the most encouraging. Which of these two promotes more of an elation or satisfaction of accomplishment.

Personally I'm leaning towards "completed" as the "d" suffix bring a more substantial and abrupt ending, which to me more clearly signifies the significance of the accomplished item.

I saw that, but do not feel it applies as this is more of an abstracted discussion untethered to usage. — Kirk Strobeck, Mar 07 '11 at 15:35
I'm confused: if there is no use case, then what is the question referring to when it says "In this use-case"? — Marthaª, Mar 07 '11 at 17:23
To reply to this question, I would say exactly what I have already said in reply to another question. — apaderno, Mar 07 '11 at 17:27
Am I missing the example 'use-case'? What is the proposed sentence where 'complete' or 'completed' will be used? — oosterwal, Mar 07 '11 at 17:40
This is marked as duplicate, but the answers here provide a better explanation. — Mohamad, Feb 18 '14 at 12:07

score 32 · Accepted Answer · edited Mar 07 '11 at 19:16

32

Complete, unlike completed, implies something whole or full. Completed means finished, accomplished, or done.

A lot of the meaning overlaps, but I think completed gives a better sense of accomplishment, though it really depends on how you're using it.

edited Mar 07 '11 at 19:16

psmears

16,391

answered Mar 07 '11 at 15:32

Neil

2,722

11

+1 Some examples, using 'complete' and 'completed' as adjectives: A complete book is one that is not missing any pages. A completed book is one that an author has finished writing. A complete job assignment includes a full set of instructions and a due date. A completed job assignment results in payment for services rendered. – oosterwal Mar 07 '11 at 18:59

score 3 · Answer 2 · answered Mar 07 '11 at 19:26

3

"Complete" indicates a thing that has been finished. "Completed" is a past-tense verb form, and while by itself means much the same thing as "complete", it has the additional implication of something that has been finished, and as a consequence, the word has additional implications of the process that completed the thing. I would go with "completed".

answered Mar 07 '11 at 19:26

Goodbye Stack Exchange

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My understanding is "complete" is similar to "perfect", so it should go with some things like books, persons, and machines,... It usually stands before the noun. "completed" is for the finished process, so it should go with some things like voyages, and steps in the process... It usually stands after the "to be" to say some things were finished. – Einsamer Dec 06 '22 at 07:18

Complete or Completed

2 Answers2