Complementary Meaning
/ˌkɒmplɪˈmɛnt(ə)ɹi/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
adjActing as a complement; making up a whole with something else.
adjOf the specific pairings of the bases in DNA and RNA.
Sentence Examples
It is likely that these two consonants are in complementary distribution.
They are highly complementary.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
CEFR Practice Quiz
These two courses offer ____ approaches to solving complex mathematical problems.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The two local businesses offer ____ services that attract the exact same clients.
Word Origin & History
From complement + -ary. Piecewise doublet of complimentary.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Using the terminology we introduced earlier, we might then say that black and white squares are in complementary distribution on a chessboard. By this we mean two things: firstly, black squares and white squares occupy different positions on the board: and secondly, the black and white squares complement each other in the sense that the black squares together with the white squares comprise the total set of 64 squares found on the board (i.e. there is no square on the board which is not either black or white)."
— 1988, Andrew Radford, Transformational grammar: a first course, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, page 140:
"the hands of the most skilful and cunning complementaries alive"
— 1600 (first performance), Beniamin Ionson [i.e., Ben Jonson], “Cynthias Reuels, or The Fountayne of Selfe-Loue. […]”, in The Workes of Beniamin Ionson (First Folio), London: […] Will[iam] Stansby, published 1616, →OCLC:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
These two courses offer ____ approaches to solving complex mathematical problems.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The two local businesses offer ____ services that attract the exact same clients.