SUPPLEMENTARY

Pronunciation (US):

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IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does supplementary mean? 

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

1. functioning in a supporting capacity

2. added to complete or make up a deficiency

  Familiarity information: SUPPLEMENTARY used as an adjective is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• SUPPLEMENTARY (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Functioning in a supporting capacity

Synonyms:

auxiliary; subsidiary; supplemental; supplementary

Context example:

the main library and its auxiliary branches

Similar:

secondary (being of second rank or importance or value; not direct or immediate)

Derivation:

supplement (a supplementary component that improves capability)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Added to complete or make up a deficiency

Synonyms:

supplemental; supplementary

Context example:

produced supplementary volumes

Similar:

additive (characterized or produced by addition)

Derivation:

supplement (a quantity added (e.g. to make up for a deficiency))

supplement (textual matter that is added onto a publication; usually at the end)

 Context examples 

A supplementary device or component designed to work with an endoscope.

(Endoscopic Accessory Device Component, NCI Thesaurus)

Treatment used instead of, or supplementary to, conventional Western-based practices.

(Alternative Medical Procedure, NCI Thesaurus)

Mrs. Norris's removal from Mansfield was the great supplementary comfort of Sir Thomas's life.

(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)

Through fMRI studies of other groups of women, the team found that infant cries activated similar brain regions in new and experienced mothers: the supplementary motor area, which is associated with the intention to move and speak; the inferior frontal regions, which are involved in the production of speech; and the superior temporal regions that are linked to sound processing.

(Study identifies brain patterns underlying mothers’ responses to infant cries, National Institutes of Health)