complication
Americannoun
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the act of complicating.
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a complicated or involved state or condition.
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a complex combination of elements or things.
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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.
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Pathology. a concurrent disease, accident, or adverse reaction that aggravates the original disease.
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the act of forming a unified idea or impression from a number of sense data, memories, etc.
noun
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a condition, event, etc, that is complex or confused
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the act or process of complicating
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a situation, event, or condition that complicates or frustrates
her coming was a serious complication
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a disease or disorder arising as a consequence of another disease
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of complication
1605–15; < Late Latin complicātīon- (stem of complicātiō ), equivalent to complicāt ( us ) ( see complicate) + -īon- -ion
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.
Vocabulary lists containing complication
Reading: Literature - Fiction - Introductory
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Reading: Literature - Drama - Introductory
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Reading: Literature - Fiction - High School
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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 episode is, on its surface, a procedural complication.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 26, 2026
The talks between the U.S. and Iran faced a potential complication after negotiators convened in Switzerland to hammer out a permanent deal.
From Barron's • Jun. 22, 2026
County in September reported the death of a school-age child from a complication of measles.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 19, 2026
The complication is that one child was given a property close to home, while another child was given a cabin several states away.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 16, 2026
But before Louis Béroud gets too excited, tell him there’s a slight complication.
From "The Mona Lisa Vanishes" by Nicholas Day
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.
