comparison
Stop mixing up complement and compliment with one memory pattern and contextual examples.
Compliment = praise. Complement = complete or match well.
Compliment with an "i" = "I like your work." Complement with an "e" = "complete."
Use this quick matrix to compare core words in this guide and jump directly into deeper lookup pages.
complement
The totality, the full amount or number which completes something.
compliment
An expression of praise, congratulation, or respect.
praise
Commendation; favourable representation in words.
match
A competitive sporting event such as a boxing meet (commonly called a "bout"), a baseball game, or a cricket match.
Example sentences pulled from our lexical corpus to show natural context.
complement
In English, the usual sentence structure is Subject - Verb - Object/Complement.
compliment
It was meant as a compliment, so I didn't want to tell him that he had missed the point.
praise
Praise stimulates students to work hard.
match
To our surprise, he was defeated in the match.
Yes. It works both ways.
Yes, it usually means praising or free of charge.