complementarity
noun
com·ple·men·tar·i·ty ˌkäm-plə-(ˌ)men-ˈter-ə-tē 
-mən-,
-ˈta-rə-
1
: the quality or state of being complementary
2
: the complementary relationship of theories explaining the nature of light or other quantized radiation in terms of both electromagnetic waves and particles
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web As with wine/food pairings—both contrast and complementarity can work well when pairing wine types with season. 
Tom Mullen, Forbes, 31 July 2022 The director also expresses this complicity, this complementarity, through his choice of anamorphic scope. Trinidad Barleycorn, Variety, 9 July 2022 The challenge for the EU and African actors finding the win-win formula for cooperation, economic complementarity, and symbiosis. Ariel Cohen, Forbes, 30 June 2022 One of those that experimented with the complementarity principle was American theoretical physicist John Archibald Wheeler. Stav Dimitropoulos, Popular Mechanics, 29 June 2022 The complementarity of these events also increases publicity for both, similar to what occurs for two renowned wine auctions in the U.S.: in Naples in Florida and in Napa Valley in California. Tom Mullen, Forbes, 27 Mar. 2022 Innovative approaches that combine indicators from these different kinds of data can demonstrate their consistency and complementarity, exploit the advantages of each and produce novel insights. Deepali Khanna, Forbes, 1 Feb. 2022 Our visions are closely aligned and mutually reinforcing, and the design of the experience draws out this complementarity. Ashoka, Forbes, 25 Jan. 2022 Romantic love requires complementarity—that is, differences. Arthur C. Brooks, The Atlantic, 10 Feb. 2022 See More
Tom Mullen, Forbes, 31 July 2022 The director also expresses this complicity, this complementarity, through his choice of anamorphic scope. Trinidad Barleycorn, Variety, 9 July 2022 The challenge for the EU and African actors finding the win-win formula for cooperation, economic complementarity, and symbiosis. Ariel Cohen, Forbes, 30 June 2022 One of those that experimented with the complementarity principle was American theoretical physicist John Archibald Wheeler. Stav Dimitropoulos, Popular Mechanics, 29 June 2022 The complementarity of these events also increases publicity for both, similar to what occurs for two renowned wine auctions in the U.S.: in Naples in Florida and in Napa Valley in California. Tom Mullen, Forbes, 27 Mar. 2022 Innovative approaches that combine indicators from these different kinds of data can demonstrate their consistency and complementarity, exploit the advantages of each and produce novel insights. Deepali Khanna, Forbes, 1 Feb. 2022 Our visions are closely aligned and mutually reinforcing, and the design of the experience draws out this complementarity. Ashoka, Forbes, 25 Jan. 2022 Romantic love requires complementarity—that is, differences. Arthur C. Brooks, The Atlantic, 10 Feb. 2022 See More Word History
Etymology
complementary + -ity
First Known Use
1911, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Medical Definition
complementarity
noun
com·ple·men·tar·i·ty ˌkäm-plə-(ˌ)men-ˈtar-ət-ē, -mən-
plural complementarities
: correspondence in reverse of part of one molecule to part of another: as
a
: the 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
b
: the correspondence between strands or nucleotides of DNA or sometimes RNA that permits their precise pairing
evolution of the contemporary genetic code involving purine-pyrimidine complementarity Struther Arnott & P. J. Bond
Struther Arnott & P. J. Bond