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complementary

4 syllables
Quick answer

As an adjective, complementary means acting as a complement. As a noun, it means a complementary colour.

Meanings of complementary

7 meanings

adjective

  1. Acting as a complement; making up a whole with something else.

    “I'll provide you with some complementary notes to help you study.”

    “The two business partners had complementary abilities: one had excellent people skills, while the other had a head for figures.”

  2. geneticsOf the specific pairings of the bases in DNA and RNA.

  3. physicsPertaining 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. An angle which adds with another to equal 90 degrees.

  3. Either one of two chromatic colors that when mixed together give white (in the case of lights) or grey (in the case of pigments)

    “yellow and blue are complementaries”

    Similar: complementary color
Older and rare meanings (1)
  1. obsoleteOne skilled in compliments.

Meanings from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet (CC BY 4.0).

Synonyms by meaning

adjective: acting as or providing a complement (something that compl…
complementalcompleting
noun: either one of two chromatic colors that when mixed togeth…
complementary color

Words that rhyme with complementary

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Scrabble & Words With Friends: valid word24 points before bonuses.13 letters.
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