complication

American  

[kom-pli-kay-shuhn] / ˌkɒm plɪˈkeɪ ʃən /

noun

• complications
  plural

1. the act of complicating.

2. a complicated or involved state or condition.

3. a complex combination of elements or things.

4. something that introduces, usually unexpectedly, some difficulty, problem, change, etc..

   Because of the complications involved in traveling during the strike, we decided to postpone our trip.

   Synonyms:

   obstacle, handicap, drawback

5. Pathology. a concurrent disease, accident, or adverse reaction that aggravates the original disease.

6. the act of forming a unified idea or impression from a number of sense data, memories, etc.

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complication British  

/ ˌkɒmplɪˈkeɪʃən /

noun

1. a condition, event, etc, that is complex or confused

2. the act or process of complicating

3. a situation, event, or condition that complicates or frustrates

   her coming was a serious complication

4. a disease or disorder arising as a consequence of another disease

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• precomplication
  noun
• recomplication
  noun
• complicative
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• complications
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of complication

1605–15; < Late Latin complicātīon- (stem of complicātiō ), equivalent to complicāt ( us ) ( see complicate) + -īon- -ion

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Explanation

A complication is a difficult circumstance or a confused condition, like the complication you cause when you invite a dozen strangers to Thanksgiving dinner. Complications can range from the one your teacher faces when you lose your pet snake in the classroom to the complications that occur during surgery, making recovery more difficult. The plot of your favorite book probably involves several complications for the characters, events or situations that make the ending uncertain or create a dilemma. Complication comes from the Latin complicāre, "to fold together," which makes sense since something with many folds is more complicated than something that's flat.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

complication complications

Novartis shelves a study for Fabhalta in patients with a serious kidney-disease complication, adding to a growing list of clinical setbacks.

From Barron's ● Oct. 17, 2026

My main concern: The one complication is that I have some reservations about the long-term stability of my younger son’s marriage.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 15, 2026

“This is a well known complication of using nitrous oxide,” Schwarz said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026

The 2025 analysis also emphasized an important complication.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 11, 2026

After the Armistice he tried frantically to get home but some complication or misunderstanding sent him to Oxford instead.

From " The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald

If future human studies confirm the benefits seen in animals, DT-109 could offer a new therapeutic option for patients with severe fatty liver disease while potentially addressing cardiovascular complications as well.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 17, 2026

Omar described him as an educator and said he died in 2020 from Covid-19 complications.

From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026

The operation to remove part of his lung lasted about 90 minutes, and there were no complications.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026

It was not clear what would happen should there be serious complications during the operation.

From Barron's ● Oct. 13, 2026

Although there is no immediate danger, it will be a long recovery, and given her age, sixty-four, there could be serious, even fatal, complications.

From "Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers" by Deborah Heiligman

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Related Words

• complexity
• confusion
• difficulty
• obstacle
• problem
• snag

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