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View synonyms for complicate

complicate

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

verb (used with object)

, com·pli·cat·ed, com·pli·cat·ing.
  1. to make complex, intricate, involved, or difficult:

    His recovery from the operation was complicated by an allergic reaction.



adjective

  1. complex; involved.
  2. Entomology. folded longitudinally one or more times, as the wings of certain insects.

complicate

verb

  1. to make or become complex
“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

adjective

  1. biology folded on itself

    a complicate leaf

  2. a less common word for complicated
“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
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Other Words From

  • o·ver·com·pli·cate verb (used with object) overcomplicated overcomplicating
  • pre·com·pli·cate verb (used with object) precomplicated precomplicating
  • re·com·pli·cate verb (used with object) recomplicated recomplicating
  • un·com·pli·cate verb (used with object) uncomplicated uncomplicating
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Word History and Origins

Origin of complicate1

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; complex ) + -ātus -ate 1
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Word History and Origins

Origin of complicate1

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

That tension — between editorial desire for a straightforward narrative and blurry reality — is made more complicated by herding, when polling firms toss results that don’t align with a dominant plotline.

From Salon

Housing secretary Angela Rayner has described the plans as "decisive action" but campaigners have labelled them as "extremely disappointing" proposals that will "only make a horribly complicated process worse".

From BBC

Several legal grey areas will likely need to be resolved in court and could complicate a scheme to reclassify tens of thousands of civil servants as Schedule F or to fire them.

From Salon

What has complicated their grief is that the drugs he took had been mixed with a nitazene, a synthetic opioid that can be lethal even in small doses.

From BBC

But it is also avoids complicated computer algorithms and relies instead on more traditional personality quizzes shared with members online at the start of every month.

From BBC

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