complex
composed of many interconnected parts; compound; composite: a complex highway system.
characterized by a very complicated or involved arrangement of parts, units, etc.: complex machinery.
so complicated or intricate as to be hard to understand or deal with: a complex problem.
Grammar.
(of a word) consisting of two parts, at least one of which is a bound form, as childish, which consists of the word child and the bound form -ish.
Mathematics. pertaining to or using complex numbers: complex methods; complex vector space.
an intricate or complicated association or assemblage of related things, parts, units, etc.: the entire complex of our educational system; an apartment complex.
Psychology. a system of interrelated, emotion-charged ideas, feelings, memories, and impulses that is usually repressed and that gives rise to abnormal or pathological behavior.
a fixed idea; an obsessive notion.
Mathematics.
an arbitrary set of elements of a group.
a collection of simplexes having specified properties.
Also called coordination compound. Chemistry. a compound in which independently existing molecules or ions of a nonmetal (complexing agent ) form coordinate bonds with a metal atom or ion.: Compare ligand (def. 2).
Biochemistry. an entity composed of molecules in which the constituents maintain much of their chemical identity: receptor-hormone complex, enzyme-substrate complex.
Chemistry. to form a complex with.
Chemistry. to form a complex.
Origin of complex
1Other words for complex
Opposites for complex
Other words from complex
- com·plex·ly, adverb
- com·plex·ness, noun
- o·ver·com·plex, adjective
- qua·si-com·plex, adjective
- qua·si-com·plex·ly, adverb
- su·per·com·plex, adjective
- un·com·plex, adjective
- un·com·plex·ly, adverb
- un·com·plex·ness, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use complex in a sentence
Algorithms can become complex as they gather lots of data from different sources to reach one or more solutions.
For digital marketers, the demand-side platform is an increasingly complex space.
Perhaps future studies of human connection to nature will focus not only on basics like visual perception but on complex feelings like grief.
Are We Wired to Be Outside? - Issue 92: Frontiers | Grigori Guitchounts | November 11, 2020 | NautilusAuthorities have been trying to find her since her car was left in the parking lot of her apartment complex, the sheriff’s office said.
Man charged in Loudoun woman’s 2011 disappearance, sheriff’s office says | Martin Weil | November 11, 2020 | Washington PostMaybe another worker who is infected in the same complex infected both the workers and touched the fish.
The U.S. has absolutely no control over the coronavirus. China is on top of the tiniest risks. | Chris Mooney, Gerry Shih | November 10, 2020 | Washington Post
British Dictionary definitions for complex
/ (ˈkɒmplɛks) /
made up of various interconnected parts; composite
(of thoughts, writing, etc) intricate or involved
grammar
(of a word) containing at least one bound form
(of a noun phrase) containing both a lexical noun and an embedded clause, as for example the italicized parts of the following sentence: I didn't know the man who served me
(of a sentence) formed by subordination of one clause to another
maths of or involving one or more complex numbers
a whole made up of interconnected or related parts: a building complex
psychoanal a group of emotional ideas or impulses that have been banished from the conscious mind but that continue to influence a person's behaviour
informal an obsession or excessive fear: he's got a complex about cats
Also called: coordination compound a chemical compound in which molecules, groups, or ions are attached to a central metal atom, esp a transition metal atom, by coordinate bonds
any chemical compound in which one molecule is linked to another by a coordinate bond
Origin of complex
1usage For complex
Derived forms of complex
- complexly, adverb
- complexness, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Browse