I. ˌkämplə(ˌ)men.ˈtarəd.ē, -ləmən- noun
( -es )
Etymology: complementary + -ity
1. : the interrelationship or the completion or perfection brought about by the interrelationship of one or more units supplementing, being dependent upon, or standing in polar position to another unit or other units
the complementarity of the sexes
the complementarity of nature and art
2. : the complementary relationship of the electromagnetic wave and corpuscular theories in explaining the dual character of light and other quantized radiation
3. : correspondence in reverse of part of one molecule to part of another ; especially : the complementary arrangement of chemical groups and electric charges that enables a combining group of an antibody to combine with a specific determinant group of an antigen or hapten
II. noun
: the correspondence between complementary strands or nucleotides of DNA or sometimes RNA that permits their precise pairing