complement
/ˈkɑmpləmənt/
Frequency: 3.77 in modern English
Meaning
noun
Something which completes, something which combines with something else to make up a complete whole; loosely, something perceived to be a harmonious or desirable partner or addition.
Countable; Uncountable
noun
A word or group of words that completes a grammatical construction in the predicate and that describes or is identified with the subject or object.
Countable; Uncountable
noun
A phonetic complement is a graphic element that modifies another, such as (in Linear B script) a small syllabogram that is attached to a logogram as an abbreviation of its reading (as opposed to an adjunct that abbreviates an adjective that modifies that logogram).
Countable; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "Queequeg sought a passage to Christian lands. But the ship, having her full complement of seamen, spurned his suit; and not all the King his father's influence could prevail."
- "Some 11 members of Somerton council's complement of 15 stepped down on Tuesday."
- "History is the complement of poetry."
- "It would be too much to imagine that improving stations will alone create a much needed new image in the public eye; a smartly turned out station staff is a very necessary complement to a smart station."
- "London's Kings Place, now one year old, established itself as a venue for imaginative programming, a complement to the evergreen Wigmore Hall."
- "Why has our grammar broken down at this point? It is not difficult to see why. For, we have failed to make any provision for the fact that only some Verbs in English (i.e. Verbs like those italicized in (5) (a), traditionally called Transitive Verbs) subcategorize ( = ‘takeʼ) an immediately following NP Complement, whereas others (such as those italicised in (5) (b), traditionally referred to as Intransitive Verbs) do not."
Etymology
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: complement, complēmentum
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈkɑmpləmənt/
- British English: /ˈkɒmpləmənt/