complementing
Making each complete
Complementing is adding what's missing to make something complete or better.
A wine complements a meal by enhancing it; skills complement each other when they fill mutual gaps.
The word is often confused with complimenting (praising), but complementing is about completion, not flattery: Her analytical mind complemented his creative approach.
Identical in appearance
- coordinatingArranging for unified action
- pairingJoining two together
- blendingCombining into uniformity
- harmonizingCreating musical agreement
according · synergy · interplay · attunement · resonance · synchrony · consonance · correspondence
Increasing by addition
- enrichingAdding worth or nutrients
- boostingIncreasing force or level
- elevatingLifting to higher level
- heighteningIncreasing in degree
strengthening · improving · accentuating · amplifying · reinforcing · intensifying · deepening · fortifying
State of achieved purpose
- completionAct of finishing
- rounding outFinishing to fullness
- finishingBringing to completion
- perfectingMaking something ideal
consummation · culmination · actualization · fruition · finalization · realization · supplying · making whole
Offsetting force or weight
- offsetCompensate by opposing force
- equilibriumState of balance
- counterweightBalancing mass in machinery
- symmetryInvariance under transformation
proportion · parity · equipoise · neutralize · stabilize · equalize · calibration · adjustment
matching
Identical in appearance
- coordinatingArranging for unified action
- pairingJoining two together
- blendingCombining into uniformity
harmonizing · according · synergy · interplay · attunement · resonance · synchrony · consonance · correspondence · compatibility
augmenting
Increasing by addition
heightening · strengthening · improving · accentuating · amplifying · reinforcing · intensifying · deepening · fortifying · embellishing
fulfillment
State of achieved purpose
- completionAct of finishing
- rounding outFinishing to fullness
- finishingBringing to completion
perfecting · consummation · culmination · actualization · fruition · finalization · realization · supplying · making whole · concluding
counterbalance
Offsetting force or weight
- offsetCompensate by opposing force
- equilibriumState of balance
- counterweightBalancing mass in machinery
symmetry · proportion · parity · equipoise · neutralize · stabilize · equalize · calibration · adjustment · alignment
- growthgrowth, grow, growing, growth rate, increase
complementingclashing
Striking with discord
conflicting · jarring · mismatching · discordant · contradicting
complementingundermining
Weakening by covert means
diminishing · weakening · counteracting · negating · canceling out
complementingcriticizing
Voicing negative assessment
insulting · disparaging · belittling · denigrating · condemning
complement, complementary, complemented, complements, complementarity