Compare words for praising someone and completing something.

The idea

A compliment is praise, and to compliment is to praise. A complement completes or enhances something, and to complement is to do that.

Patterns to compare
WordMeaning
complimentpraise; praise someone
complementsomething that completes or enhances; complete or enhance

Examples

  • Her compliment made the cook smile.
  • I complimented the team on its patience.
  • The musician received a sincere compliment.
  • The lemon complements the fish.
  • This scarf is a complement to the coat.
  • The two skills complement each other.

Read-aloud uses a synthetic English voice on your device. Quality and availability vary; it does not assess pronunciation.

Watch out

The similar sound can hide the spelling: praise takes compliment, while a matching addition takes complement.

Try it yourself

  1. Choose the correct word. The guest paid the baker a ___ on the bread. (compliment / complement)

    Show answer or example answer

    compliment

    compliment: The guest praises the bread.

  2. Choose the correct word. The herbs ___ the soup beautifully. (compliment / complement)

    Show answer or example answer

    complement

    complement: The herbs improve the soup’s flavour.

  3. Choose the correct word. Your kind words were a lovely ___. (compliment / complement)

    Show answer or example answer

    compliment

    compliment: The kind words are praise.

Use it today

Give someone praise and describe two things that work well together.