Meanings
nouncomplementary distribution (plural complementary distributions)
plural complementary distributions
- human sciencesThe distribution of phones in their respective phonetic environments such that one never appears in the same phonetic context as the other.
Synonyms & antonyms
Opposite
contrastive distributionfree variation
noun(linguistics) a distribution of related speech sounds or forms in such a way that they only appear in different contexts
Similar
Broader
Also see
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Translations
Chinese Mandarin 互補分佈 /互补分布
- 互補分佈 /互补分布 (hùbǔ fēnbù)distribution of phones
Finnish täydennysjakauma
- täydennysjakaumadistribution of phones
French distribution complémentaire
- distribution complémentairedistribution of phones
Hungarian kiegészítő eloszlás
- kiegészítő eloszlásdistribution of phones
Italian distribuzione complementare
- distribuzione complementaredistribution of phones
Japanese 相補分布
- 相補分布 (sōho bunpu)distribution of phones
Polish dystrybucja komplementarna
- dystrybucja komplementarnadistribution of phones
Portuguese distribuição complementar
- distribuição complementardistribution of phones
Russian дополни́тельная дистрибу́ция, дополни́тельное распределе́ние
- дополни́тельная дистрибу́ция (dopolnítelʹnaja distribúcija)distribution of phones
- дополни́тельное распределе́ние (dopolnítelʹnoje raspredelénije)distribution of phones
Spanish distribución complementaria
- distribución complementariadistribution of phones
Cite this entry
APA
complementary distribution. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/complementary%20distribution
MLA
“complementary distribution.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/complementary%20distribution. Accessed November 2, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “complementary distribution,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/complementary%20distribution.
Source: complementary distribution on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.