complementarity

American  

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

noun

1. the quality or state of being complementary.

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complementarity British  

/ ˌkɒmplɪmənˈtærɪtɪ /

noun

1. a state or system that involves complementary components

2. 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

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complementarity Scientific  

/ kŏm′plə-mən-târ′ĭ-tē /

1. 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).

2. See also uncertainty principle

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Etymology

Origin of complementarity

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

Example Sentences

The merger would allow both companies to better monetize their intellectual properties, with strong complementarity between All3Media and Banijay Entertainment, Riahi says.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 3, 2026

When planning with lower resolution weather data, which was generated at a 30-kilometer resolutionglobally and is more commonly used in energy system planning, there was much less complementarity among renewable power plants.

From Science Daily • Dec. 6, 2024

“What led us to hire him … was the clear complementarity of his research” with that at IOCB, Konvalinka said.

From Science Magazine • Nov. 13, 2023

Rather, Aztec state culture emphasized the complementarity of women and men, with men expected to fill roles outside the home like farming and fighting and women responsible for domestic chores like cooking and weaving.

From Textbooks • Apr. 19, 2023

Theoretical breakthrough that it was, complementarity did nothing to resolve the paradoxical results emanating from the atomic nucleus.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik