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complementarity

   Also found in: Medical, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia 0.01 sec.
com·ple·men·tar·i·ty  (kmpl-mn-tr-t)
n.
The state or quality of being complementary: "This is where the complementarity of the masculine and the feminine so acutely emerges. They are the necessary poles of a dialectic process" (Therese Namenek).

complementarity [ˌkɒmplɪmənˈtærɪtɪ]
n pl -ties
1. a state or system that involves complementary components
2. (Physics / General Physics) 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 [2]

complementarity  (kmpl-mn-târ-t)
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). See also uncertainty principle.
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Noun1.complementarity - a relation between two opposite states or principles that together exhaust the possibilities
ungradable opposition - an opposition that has no intermediate grade; either one or the other
2.complementarity - the interrelation of reciprocity whereby one thing supplements or depends on the other; "the complementarity of the sexes"
reciprocality, reciprocity - a relation of mutual dependence or action or influence
Translations
complementarity [ˌkɒmplɪmɛnˈtærəti] ncomplémentarité f
complementarity [ˌkɒmplɪmɛnˈtærɪtɪ] ncomplementarità
complementarity [ˌkɒmplɪmɛnˈtærɪtɪ] ncomplementarità


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This essay challenges the complementarity interpretive approach to Genesis 1-2 on two interrelated grounds: (1) it imposes on Genesis 1-2 questions foreign to the issues the texts are addressing, and (2) it assumes that the modern anthropological model of two sexes differentiated on biological grounds has been constant from ancient times to the present.
If there was anything less likely to engage female students than The Vagina Monologues," Spark writes, "it is talk about the complementarity of the sexes and the inseparability of the unitive and procreative dimensions of the conjugal act.
In addition, same-sex "marriage" is a more effective term than "sodo-matrimony" in connoting complementarity between spouses.
 
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