Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of intricacy
First recorded in 1595–1605; intric(ate) + -acy
Explanation
The noun intricacy means a quality of being complex or elaborately detailed. You could compliment the intricacy of your friend's complicated hairdo. A delicate piece of jewelry, twisted with decorative strands of silver, can be admired for its intricacy, and an overly complex piece of legislation might be criticized for its intricacy. You could also talk about the intricacy of the universe, or the intricacy of the human body. Intricacy comes from the Latin root word intricatus, which means "entangled."
Vocabulary lists containing intricacy
Power Suffix: -acy
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War Horse
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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.
See Examples For:
The hand-spun yarn dyed in natural colours is woven on handlooms, packing in between 300 and several thousand knots per square inch, depending on the intricacy of the design.
From Barron's ● Aug. 27, 2026
Enough of the intricacy and the controversy, anyway.
From BBC ● May 26, 2026
But the Houthis had developed a network to track American warplanes with observers, optics and infrared sensors whose intricacy U.S. officials didn’t entirely understand.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 26, 2026
A convent girl with a creepy streak, Elizabeth sees beauty in biology, leaning over a corpse’s flayed back to appreciate the intricacy of its ventricles.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2025
Roses produced dabs of red; boats added intricacy and life.
From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson
Financial advisers learn the intricacies of portfolio design, risk management and tax planning.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 23, 2026
Her podcast “You Must Remember This,” about “the secret and/or forgotten histories of Hollywood’s first century,” has spent 21 seasons diving into the intricacies of the movie industry, from lauded stars to undersung production designers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026
Tanden can reflexively rattle off the particularities of housing protocols I couldn’t begin to decode; she titters with satisfaction upon recounting the intricacies of a long-discarded Australian cap-and-trade proposal.
From Slate ● Oct. 15, 2026
But what I gained was insight into the intricacies of the American judicial system, and profound appreciation to be one of the fortunate few who got another shot at justice.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
Ten-year-old Martin spent hours beside his father, ready to hand over a needed tool, studying the correct way to wax, and discovering the well-crafted intricacies of a Porsche engine.
From "You Bring the Distant Near" by Mitali Perkins
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
