noncomplementary
|non-com-ple-men-ta-ry|
🇺🇸
/ˌnɑn.kəmˈplɛ.mən.tɛr.i/
🇬🇧
/ˌnɒn.kɒmˈplɛ.mən.tri/
not serving as a complement; not matching
Etymology
'noncomplementary' originates from English, formed by the prefix 'non-' (meaning 'not') attached to 'complementary'; 'complementary' in turn comes from Latin 'complēmentum' meaning 'that which fills up' or 'completion'.
'complementary' derives from Latin 'complēmentum' → Old French 'complement' → Middle English 'complement'; the adjective 'complementary' developed from this, and the negative prefix 'non-' was later attached to produce 'noncomplementary' in modern English usage.
Originally the root meant 'that which completes or fills up'; 'complementary' retained the sense of 'completing' or 'matching', while the addition of 'non-' created the negated meaning 'not completing' or 'not matching' used today.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Adjective 1
not complementary; not serving as a complement or not mutually completing or enhancing.
The two reports are noncomplementary and do not provide a complete picture when read together.
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Adjective 2
(technical) In genetics or molecular biology: not forming the expected base pairs; not complementary in sequence pairing.
In the mutated sequence several bases became noncomplementary, preventing proper DNA pairing.
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Last updated: 2025/10/22 08:58