Crossword Genius

Having a less than complete liking for something? (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

partial

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'liking for something?' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this definition defines the answer.

'having a less than complete' is the wordplay.
'having' becomes 'parti' (I can't justify this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'a less than' means to remove the last letter (not the full word).
'complete' becomes 'all' (similar in meaning).
'all' with its last letter removed is 'al'.
'parti'+'al'='PARTIAL'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for partial that I've seen before include "Biased or incomplete" , "Incomplete; biassed" , "Fond of" , "Not complete, or with strong liking for" , "Not complete or whole" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.
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