noun
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the state or quality of being intricate or complex
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something intricate or complex; complication
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of complexity
Explanation
Is the movie simple or does it have lots of plot twists and intricate relationships between characters? If the latter is true, the movie's complexity makes it hard to understand. When you see the word complexity, think of something with a lot of pieces, something not easy to put into words or understand. Things that can have complexity include: the events leading up to the American Civil War, a broth made with many ingredients, your relationship with your parents. Complexity is the opposite of simplicity. When something has a lot of complexity, you say it is complex. When it has very little complexity, it is simple.
Vocabulary lists containing complexity
List 2
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Nothing But the Truth
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"Why Read Shakespeare?" Vocabulary from the argument
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Lavazza calls the last few years an "unprecedented time in terms of complexity and troubles".
From BBC • May 28, 2026
“No other consumer technology company has both legs of that architecture under a single trust model, and we think that gap becomes more visible, and more valuable, as agentic complexity scales,” he said.
From Barron's • May 26, 2026
Unlike turn-based games that progress with sequential, alternating moves, “StarCraft” has a high degree of complexity that makes it well-suited to training machine intelligence.
From MarketWatch • May 23, 2026
There was substantial integration and execution risk associated with a merger, given both its size and complexity and Estee Lauder’s ongoing turnaround, analysts said.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 21, 2026
The pattern of evolutionary causality is a web of astonishing complexity; the incompleteness of our understanding humbles us.
From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
