complicate

[ verb kom-pli-keyt; adjective kom-pli-kit ]

/ verb ˈkɒm plɪˌkeɪt; adjective ˈkɒm plɪ kɪt /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR complicate ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), com·pli·cat·ed, com·pli·cat·ing.

to make complex, intricate, involved, or difficult: His recovery from the operation was complicated by an allergic reaction.

adjective

complex; involved.

Entomology. folded longitudinally one or more times, as the wings of certain insects.

Nearby words

compliance, compliance officer, compliancy, compliant, complicacy, complicate, complicated, complication, complice, complicit, complicity

Origin of complicate

1615–25; < Latin complicātus (past participle of complicāre to fold together), equivalent to com- com- + -plic- (combining form of *plecāre to fold, akin to plectī to plait; see complex) + -ātus -ate¹

Related forms

o·ver·com·pli·cate, verb (used with object), o·ver·com·pli·cat·ed, o·ver·com·pli·cat·ing.pre·com·pli·cate, verb (used with object), pre·com·pli·cat·ed, pre·com·pli·cat·ing.re·com·pli·cate, verb (used with object), re·com·pli·cat·ed, re·com·pli·cat·ing.un·com·pli·cate, verb (used with object), un·com·pli·cat·ed, un·com·pli·cat·ing.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for complicate

But there was money on the line, which tends to complicate things.
COEXIST’s Bonehead Bumper-Sticker Politics|Michael Schulson|December 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The ambivalence is reflected in U.S. policy, which often has served to complicate aid delivery in conflict zones.
Why Humanitarians Talk to ISIS|Joshua Hersh|October 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
To complicate matters further, the only people who seemed to have any desire to go after Booker were of the conspiracy-theory ilk.
The Ugly Truth About Cory Booker, New Jersey’s Golden Boy|Olivia Nuzzi|October 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The attacks on the Khorasan Group also complicate U.S. efforts to partner with the more moderate opposition.
Al Qaeda Plotters in Syria ‘Went Dark,’ U.S. Spies Say|Eli Lake|September 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Two menacing Fargo-esque figures show up to complicate things.
Viral Video of the Day: A Little 'Lebowski' Influence in Kahlua Ad|Alex Chancey|September 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
These, in proportion as a citizen duly performs them, complicate his movements considerably.
The Data of Ethics|Herbert Spencer
In this case there were no children to complicate settlement.
American Missionary, Volume 44, No. 6, June, 1890|Various
Deference is the most complicate, the most indirect, and the most elegant of all compliments.
Dictionary of Quotations from Ancient and Modern, English and Foreign Sources|James Wood
But he was afraid to complicate matters, to arouse suspicion.
Dust of New York|Konrad Bercovici
It is the state wherein we know our wholeness and the complicate, manifold nature of our being.
Fantasia of the Unconscious|D. H. Lawrence

British Dictionary definitions for complicate

complicate

verb (ˈkɒmplɪˌkeɪt)

to make or become complex

adjective (ˈkɒmplɪkɪt)

biology folded on itselfa complicate leaf

a less common word for complicated

Word Origin for complicate

C17: from Latin complicāre to fold together, from plicāre to fold

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