complementizer
noun
complementizer is spelled C-O-M-P-L-E-M-E-N-T-I-Z-E-R: 14 letters. It appears about once in every 56 million words in written English, the 234,209th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, complementizer means “A subordinating conjunction that can convert a clause into a complement clause, i.e. one that completes a grammatical construction in the predicate…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of complementizer is complementizers.
How many letters and syllables are in complementizer?
| Letters | 14: C-O-M-P-L-E-M-E-N-T-I-Z-E-R |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 56 million words; the 234,209th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is complementizer?
Complementizer appears about once in every 56 million words in written English, the 234,209th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Forms of complementizer
- complementizers plural
- complementiser
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does complementizer mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A subordinating conjunction that can convert a clause into a complement clause, i.e. one that completes a grammatical construction in the predicate and that describes or is identified with the subject or object.
Near-synonym: subordinating conjunction
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Complementizer in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense form of subordinate conjunction:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | complémenteur |
| German | Komplementierer, Complementizer |
| Spanish | complementizador, complementante |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does complementizer come from?
From complementize + -er.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).