complementary

Meaning

Adj

1. Acting as a complement; making up a whole with something else.
2. Of the specific pairings of the bases in DNA and RNA.
3. 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.)

Noun

1. A complementary colour.
2. (obsolete) One skilled in compliments.
3. An angle which adds with another to equal 90 degrees.

Synonyms

supplementary

complemental

supplemental

complementary color

completing

additional

averse

collateral

complement

complementation

completive

contrary

derived

extra

fulfilling

opposed

opposite

reverse

subsidiary

cloze

relatively complemented

complimental

antagonistic

antipodal

antipodean

antithetic

antithetical

Translations

complémentaire

complementario

ergänzend

complementar

complementare

komplementär

aanvullend

συμπληρωματικός

tamamlayıcı

complementair

complementari

Ergänzungs-

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˌkɒmplɪˈmɛnt(ə)ɹi/

Etymology

From complement + -ary. Piecewise doublet of complimentary.