complementary

English

Wikipedia

Etymology

From complement +‎ -ary

Pronunciation

• Homophones: complimentary

Adjective

complementary (comparative more complementary, superlative most complementary)

1. Acting as a complement.
2. (genetics) Of the specific pairings of the bases in DNA and RNA.
3. (physics) Pertaining to pairs of properties in quantum mechanics that are inversely related to each other, such as speed and position, or energy and time. (See also Heisenberg uncertainty principle.)

Usage notes

• Complementary and complimentary are frequently confused and misused in place of one another.

Derived terms

• complementary angle
• complementary colour

Related terms

• complementarity
• complemental

Translations

acting as a complement

• Bulgarian: допълнителен (bg) (dopǎlnitelen)
• Catalan: complementari (ca)
• Esperanto: komplementa (eo)
• Finnish: täydentävä, komplementaarinen

• French: complémentaire (fr)
• Romanian: complementar (ro) m and n
• Spanish: complementario (es)

of the specific pairings of the bases in DNA and RNA

Noun

complementary (plural complementaries)

1. A complementary colour.
2. (obsolete) One skilled in compliments.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Ben Jonson to this entry?)

External links

• complementary in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• complementary in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911