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 & position and energy & 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) 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

External links

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