Meanings
plural complementary antonyms
- human sciencesA term whose meaning is the complement of another term, in an either-or fashion, such as mortal in relation to immortal.
Synonyms: binary antonym, contradictory antonym
- human sciencesOne of a pair of words wherein affirmative use of one entails the negative of the other with no gradability.
Complementary (also called contradictory) antonyms are those for which the assertion of one entails the negation of the other and vice versa, as in (17). a. That integer is even. → That integer is not odd. b. That integer is not odd. → That integer is even.
2010, M. Lynne Murphy, Lexical Meaning, page 120
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA term whose meaning is the complement of another term, in an either-or fashion, such as mortal in relation to immortal.
Translations
Finnish komplementaarinen vastakohta
- komplementaarinen vastakohtacomplementing term
Korean 보완적 반의어
- 보완적 반의어 (bowanjeog ban-uieo)complementing term
Polish antonim komplementarny
- antonim komplementarnycomplementing term
Cite this entry
complementary antonym. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/complementary%20antonym
“complementary antonym.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/complementary%20antonym. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “complementary antonym,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/complementary%20antonym.
Source: complementary antonym on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.