complicate

[kom-pli-keyt, kom-pli-kit]

verb (used with object)

complicated, complicating 

1. to make complex, intricate, involved, or difficult.

   His recovery from the operation was complicated by an allergic reaction.

adjective

1. complex; involved.

2. Entomology.,  folded longitudinally one or more times, as the wings of certain insects.

complicate

verb

1. to make or become complex

adjective

1. biology folded on itself

   a complicate leaf

2. a less common word for complicated

Other Word Forms

• overcomplicate verb (used with object)
• precomplicate verb (used with object)
• recomplicate verb (used with object)
• uncomplicate verb (used with object)

Word History and Origins

Origin of complicate¹

1615–25; < Latin complicātus (past participle of complicāre to fold together), equivalent to com- com- + -plic- (combining form of *plecāre to fold, akin to plectī to plait; complex ) + -ātus -ate ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of complicate¹

C17: from Latin complicāre to fold together, from plicāre to fold

Example Sentences

Francis is determined to keep his two bosses apart, a recipe for farcical mayhem, made all the more complicated by Rachel’s convincing drag act and Stanley’s ignorance of her master plan.

From Los Angeles Times

“What you really learn is how to tackle complicated research problems. And being trained as an engineering-oriented PhD student is a great thing for an astronaut because of the new problems they’re going to encounter.”

From Los Angeles Times

These factors are further complicated by human activities.

From BBC

But the challenge of where to house people if the hotel was to close, poses its own complicated set of problems.

From BBC

“Now, it’s going to be even more complicated,” he said, after learning of the Supreme Court decision.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• convolute 
• impede 
• involve 
• muddle 
• obscure 
• perplex 
• upset