complicate
Use Complicate in a sentence
plɪˌkeɪt; verb (used with object)
1.
to make complex, intricate, involved, or difficult: His recovery from the operation was complicated by an allergic reaction.
adjective
2.
complex; involved.
3.
Entomology. folded longitudinally one or more times, as the wings of certain insects.
Origin:
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; see complex) + -ātus -ate1
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; see complex) + -ātus -ate1
Related forms
o·ver·com·pli·cate, verb (used with object), o·ver·com·pli·cat·ed, o·ver·com·pli·cat·ing.
pre·com·pli·cate, verb (used with object), pre·com·pli·cat·ed, pre·com·pli·cat·ing.
re·com·pli·cate, verb (used with object), re·com·pli·cat·ed, re·com·pli·cat·ing.
un·com·pli·cate, verb (used with object), un·com·pli·cat·ed, un·com·pli·cat·ing.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
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Link To complicate
00:10
Complicate
is always a great word to know.
So is confectionery. Does it mean:
| work or business of a sweetmaker |
| to change a penalty to a less severe one |
Collins
World English Dictionary
| complicate | |
| —vb | |
| 1. | to make or become complex |
| —adj | |
| 2. | biology folded on itself: a complicate leaf |
| 3. | a less common word for complicated |
| [C17: from Latin complicāre to fold together, from plicāre to fold] | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
complicate
1620s, "to intertwine," from L. complicatus, pp. of complicare (see complication). Meaning "to make more complex" is recorded from 1832. Related: Complicating (1691).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Example sentences
Let us also agree that some technologies dramatically simplify our lives, while others complicate them.
Worse still if he has to develop the action, complicate the characters, show one thing pressing upon another.
To further complicate matters, the wool industry is split over the best way to handle the situation.
The complex ties of clan, tribe, and region further complicate things.
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