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
Words nearby complementarity
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-tăr′ĭ-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-târ′ĭ-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.