ABSTRACT
Semantic relation of opposition. Two expressions are in a relation of complementarity when both expressions split their semantic range into disjunct parts. A heuristic test for complementarity can be performed by cross-substituting the given lexemes l1 and l2 in suitable sentences S(…). If S(l1) and S(l2) are strongly contradictory ( contradiction), then the two lexemes are said to be complementaries, in the sense that from S(l1) the negation of S(l2) follows, from S(12) the negation of S(l1) follows, from the negation of S(l1) S(l2) follows, and from the negation of S(l2) S(l1) follows. Contradictory expressions like married vs unmarried and dead vs alive are frequently neither gradable (*to be somewhat dead), nor have comparative forms (*X is more married than Y). Complementarity is a special type of incompatibility. ( also gradable complementaries)
References
semantic relation, semantics
