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complementary - 5 dictionary results

com⋅ple⋅men⋅ta⋅ry

  [kom-pluh-men-tuh-ree, -tree] adjective, noun, plural -ries.
Use complementary in a Sentence
–adjective
1. forming a complement; completing.
2. complementing each other.
–noun
3. complementary color (def. 1).
Origin:
1590–1600; complement + -ary

Related forms:
com⋅ple⋅men⋅ta⋅ri⋅ness, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To complementary
com·ple·men·ta·ry   (kŏm'plə-měn'tə-rē, -trē)   
adj.  
  1. Forming or serving as a complement; completing.
  2. Supplying mutual needs or offsetting mutual lacks.
  3. Genetics Of or relating to a group of genes that act in concert to produce a specific phenotype.
  4. Biochemistry Of or relating to the specific pairing of the purines and pyrimidines between strands of a DNA or an RNA molecule.
com'ple·men'ta·ri·ly (-tə-rə-lē, -trə-lē, -měn-târ'ə-lē) adv., com'ple·men'ta·ri·ness n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Complementary

Com`ple*men"ta*ry\, a. Serving to fill out or to complete; as, complementary numbers.

Complementary colors. See under Color.

Complementary angles (Math.), two angles whose sum is 90[deg].

Complementary

Com`ple*men"ta*ry\, n. [See Complimentary.] One skilled in compliments. [Obs.] --B. Jonson.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Main Entry: com·ple·men·ta·ry
Pronunciation: "käm-pl&-'ment-&-rE, -'men-trE
Function: adjective
1 : relatingto or constituting one of a pair of contrasting colors that produce a neutral color when combined in suitable proportions
2 : characterized by molecular complementarity;especially : characterized by the capacity for precise pairing of purine and pyrimidine bases between strands of DNA and sometimes RNA such that the structure of one strand determinesthe other —com·ple·men·ta·ri·ly /-'men-tr&-lE, -(")men-'ter-&-lE, -'ment-&-r&-lE/ adverb —com·ple·men·ta·ri·ness /-'ment-&-rE-n&s, -'men-trE-/ noun
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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