library(tidyr)
df <- tibble(a = c(1, 2, 3), c = c(1, NA, 3))
df
#> # A tibble: 3 × 2
#> a c
#> <dbl> <dbl>
#> 1 1 1
#> 2 2 NA
#> 3 3 3
# should apply fill here anyways
complete(df, fill = list(c = 0))
#> # A tibble: 3 × 2
#> a c
#> <dbl> <dbl>
#> 1 1 1
#> 2 2 NA
#> 3 3 3
complete(df, a, fill = list(c = 0))
#> # A tibble: 3 × 2
#> a c
#> <dbl> <dbl>
#> 1 1 1
#> 2 2 0
#> 3 3 3
Created on 2021-12-14 by the reprex package (v2.0.1)
Created on 2021-12-14 by the reprex package (v2.0.1)