complex
composed of many interconnected parts; compound; composite: a complex highway system.
characterized by a very complicated or involved arrangement of parts, units, etc.: complex machinery.
so complicated or intricate as to be hard to understand or deal with: a complex problem.
Grammar.
(of a word) consisting of two parts, at least one of which is a bound form, as childish, which consists of the word child and the bound form -ish.
Mathematics. pertaining to or using complex numbers: complex methods; complex vector space.
an intricate or complicated association or assemblage of related things, parts, units, etc.: the entire complex of our educational system; an apartment complex.
Psychology. a system of interrelated, emotion-charged ideas, feelings, memories, and impulses that is usually repressed and that gives rise to abnormal or pathological behavior.
a fixed idea; an obsessive notion.
Mathematics.
an arbitrary set of elements of a group.
a collection of simplexes having specified properties.
Also called coordination compound. Chemistry. a compound in which independently existing molecules or ions of a nonmetal (complexing agent ) form coordinate bonds with a metal atom or ion.: Compare ligand (def. 2).
Biochemistry. an entity composed of molecules in which the constituents maintain much of their chemical identity: receptor-hormone complex, enzyme-substrate complex.
Chemistry. to form a complex with.
Chemistry. to form a complex.
Origin of complex
1Other words for complex
Opposites for complex
Other words from complex
- com·plex·ly, adverb
- com·plex·ness, noun
- o·ver·com·plex, adjective
- qua·si-com·plex, adjective
- qua·si-com·plex·ly, adverb
- su·per·com·plex, adjective
- un·com·plex, adjective
- un·com·plex·ly, adverb
- un·com·plex·ness, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
British Dictionary definitions for complex
/ (ˈkɒmplɛks) /
made up of various interconnected parts; composite
(of thoughts, writing, etc) intricate or involved
grammar
(of a word) containing at least one bound form
(of a noun phrase) containing both a lexical noun and an embedded clause, as for example the italicized parts of the following sentence: I didn't know the man who served me
(of a sentence) formed by subordination of one clause to another
maths of or involving one or more complex numbers
a whole made up of interconnected or related parts: a building complex
psychoanal a group of emotional ideas or impulses that have been banished from the conscious mind but that continue to influence a person's behaviour
informal an obsession or excessive fear: he's got a complex about cats
Also called: coordination compound a chemical compound in which molecules, groups, or ions are attached to a central metal atom, esp a transition metal atom, by coordinate bonds
any chemical compound in which one molecule is linked to another by a coordinate bond
Origin of complex
1usage For complex
Derived forms of complex
- complexly, adverb
- complexness, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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