These words are alike in meaning to reach the end of a task or activity. Finish and complete mean to bring to an anticipated end by doing all things that are necessary or appropriate to achieving that end. Although the two words may be used as exact synonyms, complete suggests the fulfilment of an assigned task and is therefore not always an appropriate substitute for finish . An author may complete or finish his novel; a reader might finish it, but one would not say that he completed it unless he were reading it as a school assignment.

Close and conclude emphasize the final stages that complete an action.

• Counsel for the plaintiff closed his case with a plea for damages; The hymn sung by the congregation concluded the religious ceremony.

End and terminate are more general in meaning. An action may be ended or terminated before it is completed . In addition, both these words carry more of a sense of finality by suggesting a definite cut-off point.

• Heckling from the audience ended the speech before the speaker had concluded his remarks; The truce terminated hostilities; If the Government refuses to appropriate funds, the slum-clearance programme might be terminated .

Finalize has achieved currency, mainly in bureaucratic use, with the meaning of to bring to a conclusion something that has been worked on for a long time or that has been held in abeyance: to finalize a budget estimate.