anticomplementary
|an-ti-com-ple-men-ta-ry|
🇺🇸
/ˌæn.ti.kəmˈplɛmən.tri/
🇬🇧
/ˌæn.ti.kɒmplɪˈmɛn.tri/
against being complementary / not complementary
Etymology
'anticomplementary' originates from Modern English, specifically formed from the prefix 'anti-' (from Greek) and the adjective 'complementary', where 'anti-' meant 'against' and 'complementary' meant 'serving as a complement or completing.'
'anticomplementary' was formed by combining 'anti-' with 'complementary'. 'Complementary' itself descends from Latin 'complementum' (meaning 'that which fills up or completes'), which passed through Middle English and early modern English before forming the modern adjective; 'anti-' comes via Latin from Greek 'antí-' meaning 'against' or 'opposite'.
Initially it was coined to mean 'against complementarity' (i.e., opposing or not exhibiting complementary relations); over time it has been used in general and technical contexts to mean 'not complementary' or 'mutually exclusive/incompatible.'
Meanings by Part of Speech
Adjective 1
not complementary; opposing or incompatible with something that would otherwise be complementary or mutually supporting.
The two proposals are anticomplementary rather than mutually supportive.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Adjective 2
(technical) Describing features, properties, or operations that exclude or contradict the principle of complementarity in a specific field (e.g., logic, physics, or molecular pairing).
In that model, certain measurement settings are anticomplementary, producing mutually exclusive outcomes.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Last updated: 2025/08/29 20:19