complementarity

/ˌkɒmpləmɛnˈtæɹɪti/

//ˌkɒmpləmɛnˈtæɹɪti// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"complementarity" is a 15-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“complementarity” is uncommon English (frequency #67,322 among 5,599 “C” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#67,322
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The state or characteristic of being complementary.

Corpus desk

Index EN-complementarity · complementarity · English

complementarity · rank #67,322 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #67,322
  • LEN-MEGA 15 letters
  • VOW-6 6 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH compositing

Nearest frequency peer: compositing (+1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “complementarity”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “complementarity” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for complementarity
PropertyValue
Headwordcomplementarity
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˌkɒmpləmɛnˈtæɹɪti/
Letters15
Frequency rank#67,322
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “complementarity” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).complementarityfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “compositing” (#67,323), “Conakry” (#67,324), “collegium” (#67,319). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “complementarity” is #67,322. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

complementarity is uncommon English at frequency #67,322 among 5,599 “C” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˌkɒmpləmɛnˈtæɹɪti/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for complementarity, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From complementary + -ity. The correct English form is complementarity, spelled C-O-M-P-L-E-M-E-N-T-A-R-I-T-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    The state or characteristic of being complementary.
  2. 2
    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.
  3. 3
    The idea that physical phenomena may have (mutually contradictory) properties that cannot be observed simultaneously (e.g. wave-particle duality).

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how complementarity appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. "Synergy is one of the most overused words in the English language, but there is a tremendous complementarity to these organizations."
  2. 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

From complementary + -ity.

This word in other languages

complémentarité(Français)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "complementarity"?
"complementarity" is spelled C-O-M-P-L-E-M-E-N-T-A-R-I-T-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌkɒmpləmɛnˈtæɹɪti/.
What does "complementarity" mean?
As a noun, "complementarity" means: The state or characteristic of being complementary.
How do you pronounce "complementarity"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "complementarity" is /ˌkɒmpləmɛnˈtæɹɪti/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "complementarity"?
From complementary + -ity. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "complementarity", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 15 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

undistinguished#67,128intelligibility#67,532internalization#67,534synchronisation#67,874

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list