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 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
One complication remains: ViaSat has pledged to pool its spectrum in a joint venture with U.A.E.-based Space42.
From Barron's • Jun. 15, 2026
A further complication for England is the impending arrival of wicketkeeper Jamie Smith's second child.
From BBC • Jun. 14, 2026
Rates of diabetic ketoacidosis, a life-threatening complication that occurs when insulin levels are so low that cells can no longer convert glucose into energy, were three times that of the rest of Los Angeles County.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 14, 2026
Throughout the history of music, periods of complication and innovation are followed by periods of simplicity and consolidation, which are then in time followed by more complication again.
From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall
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.
