Complement vs Compliment

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Complement vs Compliment
The English dictionary has a lot of tricky words up its sleeve, and another pair would be the words complement and compliment. Again, we are learning that one letter can make a huge difference. What is even trickier is that they are pronounced almost exactly the same. Let us break down the meaning of both words so as to know how to use them accurately.

The word complement means to supplement something or to make something complete. The word in its current form is usually used as a verb, but another variation come in adjective form, which is complementary. An example of the term complement as a verb would be “The hat you are wearing complements your dress.” In this sentence, however, it may seem that the hat does not exactly make the dress complement. Rather, the hat is implied to be a tool that enhances the dress of the person. This can also be the meaning of the word “complement”, which is to enhance or augment.

The term compliment, on the other hand, has an entirely different meaning. Although also a verb but can also take the form of a noun, the term compliment means to praise someone or something. For instance, when you find something beautiful, you may express it through compliments.

A good example that shows the correct usage of the word compliment would be this: “I complimented her for her inspiring graduation speech.” Complimented is the past tense of the word compliment, and in the sentence, it is implied that the subject (I) praised the one who gave a graduation speech since the speech was inspiring.

This implies a positive meaning, which is usually how the term compliment is used. As a noun, a good example would be commonly used expression “giving compliments to the chef”, which is to say giving praise to the chef for preparing a good meal.