complicity
Americannoun
noun
-
the fact or condition of being an accomplice, esp in a criminal act
-
a less common word for complexity
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of complicity
1650–60; < Late Latin complic-, stem of complex complice + -ity
Explanation
Complicity is involvement in a wrongful act — like when you drove your newly-turned-vegetarian friend to a fast food joint so that she could scarf down a hamburger. Complicity refers to the act of helping someone else behave inappropriately or illegally. If you find yourself accused of complicity, it's often helpful to show that you were unaware of the other person's intentions. In the case of the trip to the fast food restaurant, that's going to be hard to prove. You'll probably be scorned for being an accomplice, or someone who is complicit, in your friend's shameful act.
Vocabulary lists containing complicity
Animal Farm
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The Things They Carried
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Boots on the Ground: America's War in Vietnam
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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.
What if we could avoid our taxpayer’s complicity, without forgoing the benefits of a common tax system?
From Slate • May 11, 2026
Monitors have accused senior Cambodian officials of complicity -- allegations the government has denied.
From Barron's • May 6, 2026
Years later, her complicity filled her with retroactive rage and guilt.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 30, 2026
In the courtroom, Ms Pelicot and her family sat through nearly four months of veiled insinuations and open accusations of complicity from both the defendants and their lawyers.
From BBC • Feb. 14, 2026
As exhausted, hungry families disembark from the trains, I silence the why of my complicity.
From "What the Night Sings" by Vesper Stamper
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.
