# complementary

> English word · Adjective · IPA /ˌkɒmplɪˈmɛnt(ə)ɹi/ · frequency rank #13,688

## Definitions
1. Acting as a complement; making up a whole with something else.
2. Of the specific pairings of the bases in DNA and RNA.
3. Pertaining to pairs of properties in quantum mechanics that are inversely related to each other, such as speed and position, or energy and time. (See also Heisenberg uncertainty principle.)

## Etymology
From complement + -ary. Piecewise doublet of complimentary.

## Easily confused with
- **complimentary** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/complementary-vs-complimentary)

## Common misspellings (21)
`ccomplementary`, `cmoplementary`, `comlpementary`, `commplementary`, `compelmentary`, `compleemntary`, `complemenatry`, `complemenntary`, `complementarry`, `complementaryy`, `complementayr`, `complementray`, `complementtary`, `complemetnary`, `complemmentary`, `complemnetary`, `compllementary`, `complmeentary`, `compplementary`, `copmlementary`, `ocmplementary`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/complementary