intricate
[in-tri-kit]
- having many interrelated parts or facets; entangled or involved: an intricate maze.
- complex; complicated; hard to understand, work, or make: an intricate machine.
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Origin of intricate
Synonyms
See more synonyms for intricate on Thesaurus.com1. knotty, tangled, labyrinthine.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for intricately
Contemporary Examples
Saudi society and government are intricately intertwined with a puritanical flavor of Islam, Wahhabism.
Film was an outlet, and the intricately crafted pieces—regardless of who made them—told their own stories.
Outfits have become so intricately planned—and more times than not, without considering the actress and her role.
His runways are always filled with intricately tailored separates, soft gowns, and lush fabrics.
The solution, said Schmidt and Bitonti, was to design thousands of intricately woven joints.
Historical Examples
Don Loris drummed on the arm of his intricately carved chair.
The Pirates of ErsatzMurray Leinster
He leaned towards her and found that she was intricately caught in the rose.
Adrienne TonerAnne Douglas Sedgwick
The walls were divided into panels, with borders broad and intricately arabesqued.
The Fair GodLew Wallace
The instinct for reproduction is intricately involved in the struggle for existence.
The Women of TomorrowWilliam Hard
It was intricately and wisely designed; its God must be omniscient.
Some Christian ConvictionsHenry Sloane Coffin
intricate
- difficult to understand; obscure; complex; puzzling
- entangled or involvedintricate patterns
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Word Origin
C15: from Latin intrīcāre to entangle, perplex, from in- ² + trīcae trifles, perplexities
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for intricately
intricate
adj.
early 15c., from Latin intricatus "entangled," past participle of intricare "to entangle, perplex, embarrass," from in- "in" (see in- (2)) + tricae (plural) "perplexities, hindrances, toys, tricks," of uncertain origin (cf. extricate). Related: Intricately.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper