Spelling.School · How to spell

How to spell complement

hear itcom·ple·ment/'kة‘mplة™,mة›nt/verbSchwa and roots

What it means: Something that completes or enhances.

In a sentence: The colors of the rainbow complement each other beautifully.

The part people get wrong

Watch for an unstressed vowel that is hard to hear. Often misspelled as compliment or complemente.

Sounds like, but is not: compliment. Same sound, different spelling and meaning.

Same family: complementary, complemented, complementing, supplement, addition. If you can spell one, the shared part carries to the others.

Where it comes from: “Complement” comes from Latin *complēre*, meaning “to fill up” or “to complete.” It is closely related to, but different from, “compliment,” which comes from a word for an expression of respect or praise—one reason English learners often confuse the two.

Patterns it uses: The unstressed vowel (schwa)

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