Complement vs compliment - what's the difference?
Compliment - praise or admiration:"She paid him a compliment on his presentation." (noun)"He complimented her cooking." (verb)"What a lovely thing to say - thank you for the compliment."Complement - something that completes or goes well with something else:"The wine complements the meal perfectly...
Compliment - praise or admiration:
"She paid him a compliment on his presentation." (noun)
"He complimented her cooking." (verb)
"What a lovely thing to say - thank you for the compliment."
Complement - something that completes or goes well with something else:
"The wine complements the meal perfectly." (verb)
"Red and green are complementary colours." (adjective)
"This sauce is a great complement to the pasta." (noun)
The distinction in everyday use
- Compliment = you're saying something nice about something
- Complement = two things work well together
Memory trick
- compliment - I give you a nice comment (i for "I say")
- complement - complete - they complete each other (e for "each other")
Both as verbs
"You should compliment her on the work." (praise her)
"The design should complement the brand." (match it well)
What does "Complement vs compliment - what's the difference?" mean?
Compliment - praise or admiration:"She paid him a compliment on his presentation." (noun)"He complimented her cooking." (verb)"What a lovely thing to say - thank you for the compliment."Complement - something that completes or goes well with something else:"The wine complements the meal perfectly...
Mixing up similar words is one of the most common learner mistakes.
LLH Tutor explains tricky word pairs like this one so the difference finally sticks.
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