complementarity
/ˌkɒmpləmɛnˈtæɹɪti/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.29 in modern English
26
Scrabble Score
15
Letters
6
Syllables
12
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A semantic relationship between two words wherein negative use of one entails the affirmative of the other with no gradability; the relation of binary antonyms.
Countable; Uncountable
noun
The idea that physical phenomena may have (mutually contradictory) properties that cannot be observed simultaneously (e.g. wave-particle duality).
Countable; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- ""Synergy is one of the most overused words in the English language, but there is a tremendous complementarity to these organizations.""
- "For complementarity, there are entailments both from affirmative sentences to the corresponding negative sentences (which is what ordinary antonymy allows) and from negative sentences to the corresponding affirmative sentences. [...] That light is on entails That light is not off. That light is not on entails That light is off."
Etymology
Etymology tree English complementary Proto-Indo-European *-teh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-ts Proto-Indo-European *-teh₂ts Latin -itāsder. Old French -itebor. Middle English -ite English -ity English complementarity From complementary + -ity.