OK I'm asking YOU the person reading this. What do YOU think is the difference (if any) between these two words? I see it wrong so many times every day I just wonder how the general population sees it. Thanks
2007-12-05 06:00:45 · 13 answers · asked by florayg 5 in Education & Reference ➔ Words & Wordplay
Come on, more than 6 people have read this! What do YOU think?
2007-12-05 06:21:21 · update #1
Compliment: I give some one a praise which is a compliment..eg. You have made a really good point by raising this common question which passes unnoticed by many eyes...
Complement:Something that adds on....eg. I am a complement to the rest of the answers given because you obviously dont need me after you have got so many results already...
Sorry a bit of humour in there... :D
2007-12-05 06:13:36 · answer #1 · answered by Niquita LaVita 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The answers you've received so far have generally defined the words correctly, but many people have given you bad noun/verb information.
"Compliment" can be a noun or a verb. A compliment is a positive comment. The teacher gave him a compliment on his paper. To compliment is to praise. The teacher complimented him on his paper.
"Complement" can also be a noun or a verb. A complement is something that goes well with something else. Cranberry sauce is a complement to turkey. To complement is to go well with something. Cranberry sauce complements turkey.
("Complimentary," in addition to meaning "having the nature of a compliment," can also mean "free of charge." As the flight attendant handed out complimentary pretzels, a passenger made a complimentary remark about her pleasant smile.)
If you look up the two words in a good dictionary, you can get even more meaning and usage information.
2007-12-05 06:37:42 · answer #2 · answered by classmate 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
They can both be nouns
1) saying something nice about somebody.
"she made a compliment about Granny's new hat."
2) What the verb to be has instead of an object.
a complement is something that completes (in the case above a sentence.)
"a full complement of crew consists of 2 on the flight deck and 4 in the cabin."
I live in UK. Answers in US may be different.
2007-12-06 00:50:32 · answer #3 · answered by rosie recipe 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Compliment: Noun
Complement: Verb
2007-12-05 09:14:48 · answer #4 · answered by I♥Strawberrys 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There have been some good answers but another definition of complement is a set of proteins which work together in your blood stream to destroy cells displaying foreign proteins on their surfaces( a.k.a. the complement cascade). I couldn't ignore such an important part of our immune response system.
2007-12-05 06:30:34 · answer #5 · answered by ponyboy 81 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Complement - nOUN thing that completes or balances something else; the full number required.
Compliment - Noun a polite expression of praise.
2007-12-05 06:04:55 · answer #6 · answered by Daisy 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You give someone a compliment - ie "you look very nice today"
If things go nicely together they complement each other - like salt and pepper
2007-12-05 21:09:20 · answer #7 · answered by Kerry K 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Compliment derives from comply, to agree or go along with, while complement derives from complete, to make whole.
2007-12-05 21:35:49 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
A compliment is when someone says something nice about your hairdo... a complement is something that goes well with something else (eg: fish complemented by chips).
"Hey, those chips go well with that fish!" is a complement compliment...
2007-12-05 06:06:17 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
put it this way the first 1 is a noun and the second is a verb
2007-12-05 06:08:15 · answer #10 · answered by Sonia 3 · 0⤊ 2⤋