COMPLEMENTARY

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does complementary mean? 

• COMPLEMENTARY (noun)
  The noun COMPLEMENTARY has 1 sense:

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

  Familiarity information: COMPLEMENTARY used as a noun is very rare.

• COMPLEMENTARY (adjective)
  The adjective COMPLEMENTARY has 2 senses:

1. of words or propositions so related that each is the negation of the other

2. acting as or providing a complement (something that completes the whole)

  Familiarity information: COMPLEMENTARY used as an adjective is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• COMPLEMENTARY (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

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

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Synonyms:

complementary; complementary color

Context example:

yellow and blue are complementaries

Hypernyms ("complementary" is a kind of...):

chromatic color; chromatic colour; spectral color; spectral colour (a color that has hue)

• COMPLEMENTARY (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Of words or propositions so related that each is the negation of the other

Context example:

'male' and 'female' are complementary terms

Similar:

antonymous (of words: having opposite meanings)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Acting as or providing a complement (something that completes the whole)

Synonyms:

complemental; complementary; completing

Similar:

additive (characterized or produced by addition)

Derivation:

complement (something added to complete or embellish or make perfect)

complementarity (a relation between two opposite states or principles that together exhaust the possibilities)

 Context examples 

The labeled, denatured DNA fragments are applied to a DNA microarray where they can hybridize to their complementary DNA sequence.

(ChIP-On-Chip, NCI Thesaurus)

Complementary medicine is used together with standard medical care.

(Complementary and Alternative Medicine, NIH: National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine)

Single-stranded DNA that is complementary to messenger RNA or DNA that has been synthesized from messenger RNA by reverse transcriptase.

(cDNA, NCI Thesaurus)

Forms of treatment that are used in addition to (complementary) or instead of (alternative) standard treatments.

(CAM, NCI Dictionary)

Base-Base Mismatch results from mutagenic factors that induce chemical modification of DNA bases so that pairing between specific bases on complementary DNA strands is eliminated causing mispairing.

(Base-Base Mismatch, NCI Thesaurus)

Less research has been done for most types of complementary medicine.

(Complementary medicine, NCI Dictionary)

It is different from alternative or complementary therapies, which are not as widely used.

(Conventional therapy, NCI Dictionary)

Laboratory procedure in which single stranded nucleic acids are allowed to interact so that complexes, or hybrids, are formed by molecules with sufficiently similar, complementary sequences.

(Nucleic Acid Hybridization, NCI Thesaurus)

Being directly across from each other; being on the other side or direction of; the other one of a complementary pair.

(Opposite, NCI Thesaurus)

Morpholinos are used to inhibit translation or splicing of specific, complementary mRNAs.

(Morpholino, NCI Thesaurus)