complementarity

[ kom-pluh-men-tar-i-tee ]
/ ˌkɒm plə mɛnˈtær ɪ ti /

noun

the quality or state of being complementary.

Origin of complementarity

First recorded in 1910–15; complementar(y) + -ity

Example sentences from the Web for complementarity

British Dictionary definitions for complementarity

complementarity
/ (ˌkɒmplɪmənˈtærɪtɪ) /

noun plural -ties

a state or system that involves complementary components
physics the principle that the complete description of a phenomenon in microphysics requires the use of two distinct theories that are complementary to each other See also duality (def. 2)

Medical definitions for complementarity

complementarity
[ kŏm′plə-mĕn-tărĭ-tē ]

n.

The correspondence or similarity between nucleotides or strands of nucleotides of DNA and RNA molecules that allows precise pairing.
The affinity that an antigen and an antibody have for each other as a result of the chemical arrangement of their combining sites.

Scientific definitions for complementarity

complementarity
[ kŏm′plə-mən-târĭ-tē ]

The concept that the underlying properties of entities (especially subatomic particles) may manifest themselves in contradictory forms at different times, depending on the conditions of observation; thus, any physical model of an entity exclusively in terms of one form or the other will be necessarily incomplete. For example, although a unified quantum mechanical understanding of such phenomena as light has been developed, light sometimes exhibits properties of waves and sometimes properties of particles (an example of wave-particle duality). See also uncertainty principle.