- past participle of complicate.
- past tense form of complicate.
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of complicated
First recorded in 1640–50; complicate + -ed 2
Explanation
When things get complicated, they are no longer simple and straightforward. If you are asked a question that would require a long, detailed answer, you might just say, "It's complicated." The word complicated came about in the 1640's to mean "tangled" or "difficult to unravel." This makes sense, considering it came from the Latin verb complicāre, meaning "to fold together." Consider that something with many folds is more complicated than something flat. Novelist Robert Ludlum said, "Life is extremely complicated," but Confucius long ago suggested that "Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated." Just having those two opposing viewpoints indicates how complicated life can be.
Vocabulary lists containing complicated
Schooled
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"Sorry, Wrong Number," Vocabulary from the play
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Excerpts from "To Kill a Mockingbird"
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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.
The relationship between physical activity and cognition was more complicated.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 17, 2026
Housing costs in Maryland and on the East Coast have made Baltimore’s cheap homes far more attractive, giving investors and community developers the demand they need to take on complicated rehabs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
Don’t get bogged down by complicated recipes that require buying lots of new ingredients — simple meals work.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 16, 2026
"Figuring out how to be a mom when I'm gone half the time across the country, it's logistically complicated," she said.
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026
Daddy's school was called a very complicated name: Harvard university.
From "All About Sam" by Lois Lowry
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.
