Thorough vs. Complete — What's the Difference?

In 17th century England, Thorough was a name given by Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford to a scheme of his to establish absolute monarchy in England. Although "Thorough" is largely attributed to Strafford, its implementation can also be accredited to the Archbishop of Canterbury William Laud.

Having all necessary or normal parts, components, or steps; entire

Complete with regard to every detail; not superficial or partial

(Botany) Having all principal parts, namely, the sepals, petals, stamens, and pistil or pistils. Used of a flower.

Exhaustively complete

Having come to an end; concluded

Painstakingly accurate or careful

Absolute; thorough

Absolute; utter

Accomplished; consummate

Variant of through.

(Football) Caught in bounds by a receiver

Painstaking and careful not to miss or omit any detail.

To bring to a finish or an end

Utter; complete; absolute.

To make whole, with all necessary elements or parts

(obsolete) Through.

(Football) To throw (a forward pass) that is caught in bounds by a receiver.

A furrow between two ridges, to drain off the surface water.

(ambitransitive) To finish; to make done; to reach the end.

Through.

(transitive) To make whole or entire.

Passing through; as, thorough lights in a house.

(poker) To call from the small blind in an unraised pot.

Passing through or to the end; hence, complete; perfect; as, a thorough reformation; thorough work; a thorough translator; a thorough poet.

With all parts included; with nothing missing; full.

Thoroughly.

Finished; ended; concluded; completed.

Through.

Generic intensifier.

A furrow between two ridges, to drain off the surface water.

In which every Cauchy sequence converges to a point within the space.

Painstakingly careful and accurate;

In which every set with a lower bound has a greatest lower bound.

Very thorough; exhaustively complete;

In which all small limits exist.

In which every semantically valid well-formed formula is provable.

That is in a given complexity class and is such that every other problem in the class can be reduced to it (usually in polynomial time or logarithmic space).

Filled up; with no part or element lacking; free from deficiency; entire; perfect; consummate.

Finished; ended; concluded; completed; as, the edifice is complete.

Having all the parts or organs which belong to it or to the typical form; having calyx, corolla, stamens, and pistil.

To bring to a state in which there is no deficiency; to perfect; to consummate; to accomplish; to fulfill; to finish; as, to complete a task, or a poem; to complete a course of education.

Come or bring to a finish or an end;

Bring to a whole, with all the necessary parts or elements;

Complete or carry out;

Complete a pass

Write all the required information onto a form;

Having every necessary or normal part or component or step;

Perfect and complete in every respect; having all necessary qualities;

Having all four whorls or principal parts--sepals and petals and stamens and carpels (or pistils);

Highly skilled;

Without qualification; used informally as (often pejorative) intensifiers;

Having come or been brought to a conclusion;