Compliment or Complement?

It’s easy to mix up the homophones compliment and complement, but they both mean very different things. The good news? It’s also easy to remember the difference.

Compliment

Compliment is the word you’re likely to use most frequently. It’s a noun and a verb, and it means to say something nice to someone or to praise them for something. So, nice jacket is a compliment. Saying something nice. (Or giving something for free, which is also nice.) Match the i’s.

I just wanted to compliment you on your work.

Thanks for the compliment; I really needed it today.

Complimentary

To make matters more confusing, complimentary is an adjective that means two things: praising or expressing a compliment, or free of charge. For example:

My mother was very complimentary about the design of the house.

She made several complimentary remarks about the furniture.

The restaurant served complimentary drinks to thank their regular customers.

You can remember complimentary the same way you remember compliment. Either it means to speak in a way that gives a compliment, or giving something free of charge, both of which are nice things to do. I also think of complimentary mints, because…