complementary color

American  

noun

1. Art.

   1. one of a pair of primary or secondary colors opposed to the other member of the pair on a schematic chart or scale color wheel, as green opposed to red, orange opposed to blue, or violet opposed to yellow.

   2. the relationship of these pairs of colors perceived as completing or enhancing each other.

2. secondary color.

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complementary color Scientific  

1. A secondary color that, when combined with the primary color whose wavelength it does not contain, produces white light. Thus yellow, which is produced by mixing the primary colors red and green, is the complementary color of blue.

2. See Note at color

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Etymology

Origin of complementary color

First recorded in 1820–30

Example Sentences

Opie’s backdrop is a damask drapery in dark green, red’s vivifying complementary color.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 31, 2024

With that in mind, I went ahead and swapped out the nickel hardware for brass, painted the walls a complementary color, and what do you know?

From Salon • Jun. 3, 2022

If you set a photo as your wallpaper, the phone will suggest a complementary color palette to apply to buttons and icons.

From The Verge • Jan. 13, 2022

Choosing a complementary color for your front door always works.

From Washington Post • Oct. 7, 2021

These two relatively cold notes are enhanced in a complementary color sense by touches of orange and yellow.

From The Art of the Exposition by Neuhaus, Eugen