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A compliment is a comment intended to express praise or admiration of someone. Compliment is also commonly used as a verb meaning to give a compliment. The word complement most commonly refers to something that goes along with something else and serves to make it better or complete it. It’s also commonly used as a verb meaning to serve as a complement in this way, as in That necklace really complements the rest of your outfit.

Complement has many other specific meanings, but compliment is really only used to refer to a nice comment or the action of giving one.

Since the primary senses of both words are generally used in positive contexts, it can be easy to confuse them.

The adjective form of complement is complementary, as in complementary colors. The adjective form of compliment is complimentary, which can describe something intended to be a compliment, as in complimentary remark, or it can be used to mean that something is given for free, as in I hope we get complimentary snacks on this flight.

The easiest way to remember the difference is that complement often means to complete, and complete also starts with c-o-m-p-l-e. On the other hand, compliment is spelled with an i, and compliments are something that I like to get (and give). Nice shirt, by the way.

Here’s an example of compliment and complement used correctly in the same sentence.

Example: The chef overheard the diners at one table complimenting the way the sauce complemented the fish, so she told the server to offer them a complimentary dessert. 

Want to learn more? Read the full breakdown of the difference between compliment and complement.

Should compliment or complement be used in the following sentence?

The two singers have very different styles, but they _____ each other so well during the performance.