complicatecom‧pli‧cate /ˈkɒmplɪkeɪt $ ˈkɑːm-/ ●●○ verb [transitive] 
The situation is complicated by the fact that I’ve got to work late on Friday. To complicate matters further, differences exist as regards legal systems, trade customs, and language.2to make an illness worse: a heart condition complicated by pneumoniaGRAMMAR Complicate is usually passive in this meaning.
WORD ORIGINcomplicate
Origin:
1600-1700 Latin past participle of complicare, from com- ( ➔ COM-) + plicare ‘to fold’VERB TABLE
complicate
| Simple Form | ||
| Present | I, you, we, they | complicate |
| he, she, it | complicates | |
| Past | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | complicated |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have complicated |
| he, she, it | has complicated | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had complicated |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will complicate |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have complicated |
| Continuous Form | ||
| Present | I | am complicating |
| he, she, it | is complicating | |
| you, we, they | are complicating | |
| Past | I, he, she, it | was complicating |
| you, we, they | were complicating | |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have been complicating |
| he, she, it | has been complicating | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had been complicating |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will be complicating |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have been complicating |
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- A student who has no desire to learn greatly complicates the teacher's job.
- Far from helping the situation, the new regulations are likely to complicate matters.
- I don't need a boyfriend - they just complicate your life.
- The continued fighting has complicated the peace negotiations.
- Williams died on Monday from a heart condition complicated by pneumonia.
- Re-melting and alloying further complicate the situation.
Longman Language Activatorto make a situation more difficult
to make a situation worse or harder to deal with: · The differences in languages made the negotiations more difficult.· Changes in the bus service will make it harder for people to get to the hospital and other medical facilities.· The new job means more hours at work, which makes it harder for me to see my kids.
to make a situation, problem etc more difficult by making it more complicated: · I don't need a boyfriend - they just complicate your life.complicate matters/things: · Far from helping the situation, the new regulations are likely to complicate matters.greatly complicate: · A student who has no desire to learn greatly complicates the teacher's job.
WORD SETSabscess, nounache, verbache, nounacne, nounagoraphobia, nounagoraphobic, nounague, noun-aholic, suffixAIDS, nounailment, nounairsick, adjectivealbino, nounalcoholic, nounalcoholism, nounallergic, adjectiveallergy, nounamnesia, nounamputee, nounanaemia, nounanaemic, adjectiveangina, nounanorexia, nounanorexic, adjectiveantacid, nounanthrax, nounantibody, nounantidepressant, nounantidote, nounantigen, nounantihistamine, nounanti-inflammatory, adjectiveantitoxin, nounapoplectic, adjectiveapoplexy, nounappendicitis, nounarteriosclerosis, nounarthritis, nounaseptic, adjectiveaspirin, nounasthma, nounastigmatism, nounasymptomatic, adjectiveathlete's foot, nounatrophy, verbauto-immune disease, nounAyurvedic medicine, nounbaby blues, nounbacillus, nounbackache, nounbark, verbbattle fatigue, nounBCG, nounbedridden, adjectivebedsore, nounbed-wetting, nounbellyache, nounbenign, adjectiveberiberi, nounbespectacled, adjectivebetter, adjectivebilious, adjectivebinge, verbbiopsy, nounbirthmark, nounbite, verbbite, nounblack and blue, adjectiveBlack Death, the, black eye, nounblackout, nounbleed, verbbleeding, nounblind, verbblister, nounblister, verbblood bank, nounblood donor, nounblood poisoning, nounbloodshot, adjectiveblood transfusion, nounbloody, adjectivebloody, verbblue baby, nounboil, nounbotulism, nounbrain damage, nounbreakdown, nounbronchitis, nounbruise, nounbruise, verbBSE, nounbubonic plague, nounbug, nounbulimia, nounbump, nounbunion, nounbuzz, verbcalloused, adjectivecallus, nouncancer, nouncandida, nouncanker, nouncarbuncle, nouncarcinogen, nouncarcinogenic, adjectivecarcinoma, nouncardiac, adjectivecardiovascular, adjectivecaries, nouncarpal tunnel syndrome, nouncarrier, nouncarry, verbcarsick, adjectivecast, nouncasualty, nouncataract, nouncatarrh, nouncatatonic, adjectivecatching, adjectivecauliflower ear, nouncerebral palsy, nouncertify, verbcervical smear, nounchapped, adjectivecharley horse, nounchemotherapy, nounchesty, adjectivechicken pox, nounchilblains, nounChinese medicine, nouncholera, nounchronic, adjectivecirrhosis, nounCJD, nouncleanse, verbcleft palate, nounclinic, nounclinical, adjectiveclub foot, nouncold, nouncold sore, nouncolic, nouncolitis, nouncollapse, verbcolour-blind, adjectivecoma, nouncommon cold, nouncommon denominator, nouncommunicate, verbcomplaint, nouncomplicate, verbcomplication, nouncompound fracture, nounconcuss, verbconcussion, nouncondition, nouncongenital, adjectivecongested, adjectiveconjunctivitis, nounconstipation, nounconsumption, nounconsumptive, nouncontagion, nouncontagious, adjectivecontinent, adjectivecontract, verbcontusion, nounconvalesce, verbconvulsion, nouncorn, nouncortisone, nouncot death, nouncough, nounCPR, nouncrack-up, nouncramp, nounCreutzfeldt-Jakob disease, nouncrick, nouncrick, verbcripple, nouncripple, verbcross-eyed, adjectivecroup, nouncurable, adjectivecut, nouncyst, nouncystic fibrosis, nouncystitis, noundecompression sickness, noundeep vein thrombosis, noundeformity, noundegenerative, adjectivedehydrate, verbdelirious, adjectivedelirium, noundelusion, noundementia, noundengue fever, noundepression, noundermatitis, noundiabetes, noundiabetic, adjectivediabetic, noundiagnosis, noundialysis, noundiaper rash, noundiarrhoea, noundiphtheria, noundisability, noundisable, verbdisabled, adjectivedischarge, verbdisease, noundisgorge, verbdislocate, verbdisorder, noundissipated, adjectivedissipation, noundistemper, noundistend, verbdizzy, adjectivedoddering, adjectivedoddery, adjectivedonate, verbdonor, noundouble vision, noundoughy, adjectivedown, adverbDown's syndrome, noundrawn, adjectivedressing, noundrinker, noundrunk, adjectivedrunk, noundrunken, adjectivedull, adjectivedumb, adjectiveDVT, noundysentery, noundyslexia, noundyspepsia, noundyspeptic, adjectiveearache, nouneating disorder, nounEbola, nounectopic pregnancy, nouneczema, nounemaciated, adjectiveemasculate, verbembolism, nounemphysema, nounencephalitis, nounendoscope, nounenervate, verbenteritis, nounepidemic, nounepilepsy, nounepileptic, adjectiveepileptic, nounetiology, nounexcruciating, adjectiveexposure, nouneyeless, adjectiveeye strain, nounfail, verbfaint, nounfester, verbfever, nounfever blister, nounfevered, adjectivefeverish, adjectivefirst aid, nounfit, nounflat feet, nounflat-footed, adjectiveflu, nounfood poisoning, nounfoot and mouth disease, nounfracture, verbfracture, nounfrostbite, noungall, noungammy, adjectiveganglion, noungangrene, noungas, noungash, noungastric, adjectivegastritis, noungastroenteritis, nounGerman measles, nounget, verbgingivitis, nounglandular fever, nounglaucoma, noungnarled, adjectivegonorrhea, noungout, noungrand mal, noungraze, verbgraze, noungriping, adjectivegroggy, adjectivegrowing pains, noungrowth, noungush, verbgynaecology, nounhacking cough, nounhaemophilia, nounhaemophiliac, nounhaemorrhage, nounhaemorrhage, verbhaemorrhoids, nounhalitosis, nounhandicap, nounhandicapped, adjectivehangover, nounhard of hearing, adjectiveharelip, nounhay fever, nounheadache, nounhealth, nounheart attack, nounheartburn, nounheart disease, nounheart failure, nounheat exhaustion, nounheat rash, nounheatstroke, nounheave, verbhepatitis, nounhernia, nounherpes, nounHIV, nounhormone replacement therapy, nounhospital, nounhospitalize, verbhot flush, nounhousebound, adjectiveHRT, nounhump, nounhumpback, nounhunchback, nounhungover, adjectivehydrophobia, nounhypertension, nounhypothermia, nounhysterectomy, nounhysteria, nounhysterical, adjectiveillness, nounimmune, adjectiveimmune system, nounimmunity, nounimmunize, verbimmunology, nounimpacted, adjectiveimpediment, nounimpetigo, nounimpotent, adjectiveincision, nounincontinent, adjectiveincubate, verbincurable, adjectiveindigestion, nounindisposed, adjectiveindisposition, nouninfantile, adjectiveinfantile paralysis, nouninfect, verbinfected, adjectiveinfection, nouninfectious, adjectiveinfirmity, nouninflammation, nouninflammatory, adjectiveinfluenza, nouninfusion, nouningrowing, adjectiveinoculate, verbinoperable, adjectiveinsane, adjectiveinsanity, nouninsomnia, nouninsomniac, nouninstability, nounintensive care, nounintravenous, adjectiveinvalid, nouninvalidity, nouninvasive, adjectiveirregular, adjectiveirritable bowel syndrome, nounirritant, nounirritate, verbirritated, adjectiveirritation, noun-ism, suffixisolation, nounjaundice, nounjaundiced, adjectivejet lag, nounknock-kneed, adjectiveknotted, adjectivelaceration, nounlaryngitis, nounlegionnaire's disease, nounleper, nounleprosy, nounlesion, nounleukemia, nounlisp, nounlisteria, nounliverish, adjectivelockjaw, nounlong-sighted, adjectiveloose, adjectivelozenge, nounlumbago, nounlunacy, nounLyme disease, nounmad cow disease, nounmalady, nounmalaise, nounmalaria, nounmalformation, nounmalignancy, nounmalignant, adjectivemalnourished, adjectivemalnutrition, nounmange, nounmangy, adjectivemania, nounmanic, adjectivemanic depression, nounmastitis, nounME, nounmeasles, nounmedicinal, adjectivemegalomania, nounmegalomaniac, nounmelancholia, nounmelancholic, adjectivemelanoma, nounmend, verbmeningitis, nounmentally handicapped, adjectivemigraine, nounmild, adjectivemiscarriage, nounmole, nounmongol, nounmono, nounmononucleosis, nounmorbid, adjectivemorning sickness, nounmoron, nounmotion sickness, nounmotor neurone disease, nounMRI, nounMRSA, nounMS, nounmultiple sclerosis, nounmumps, nounmurmur, nounmusclebound, adjectivemuscular dystrophy, nounmute, adjectivemute, nounmyopia, nounmyopic, adjectivemyxomatosis, nounnarcolepsy, nounnausea, nounnauseate, verbnauseous, adjectivenearsighted, adjectivenervous breakdown, nounnettle rash, nounneuralgia, nounneurosis, nounneurotic, adjectivenosebleed, nounnotifiable, adjectiveNSU, nounobesity, nounoff-colour, adjectiveoperate, verboperation, nounophthalmic, adjectiveophthalmology, noun-osis, suffixosteoarthritis, nounosteopathy, nounosteoporosis, nounoutpatient, nounoverbite, nounpacemaker, nounpaediatrics, nounpale, adjectivepallid, adjectivepallor, nounpalpitate, verbpalpitations, nounpalsy, nounpandemic, nounparalyse, verbparalysed, adjectiveparalysis, nounparalytic, adjectiveparalytic, nounparanoia, nounparaplegia, nounparaplegic, nounparasitic, adjectiveParkinson's disease, nounparoxysm, nounpasty, adjectivepasty-faced, adjectivepathogen, nounpathological, adjectivepathology, nounpeaked, adjectivepeaky, adjectivepellagra, nounpeptic ulcer, nounperforated, adjectiveperiod pain, nounperitonitis, nounpernicious anaemia, nounpersecution complex, nounpestilence, nounpestilential, adjectivepetit mal, nounpharyngitis, nounphlebitis, nounphlegm, noun-phobic, suffixphysiotherapy, nounpigeon-toed, adjectivepins and needles, nounplacebo, nounplague, nounplaque, nounplaster cast, nounpleurisy, nounPMS, nounPMT, nounpneumonia, nounpockmark, nounpockmarked, adjectivepoisoning, nounpolio, nounpolyp, nounpoor, adjectivepost-traumatic stress disorder, nounpremenstrual tension, nounprescribe, verbprescription, nounpreventive medicine, nounprickle, verbprickly heat, nounprognosis, nounprolapse, nounprophylactic, adjectiveprophylactic, nounprophylaxis, nounpsoriasis, nounpsychopath, nounpsychosis, nounpsychosomatic, adjectivepsychotic, adjectivepuffy, adjectivepull, verbpurulent, adjectivepus, nounpustule, nounqueasy, adjectiverabid, adjectiverabies, nounradiation sickness, nounradiography, nounrash, nounraw, adjectivereact, verbreaction, nounreceive, verbrecuperate, verbrecuperative, adjectiveregurgitate, verbrelapse, verbremission, nounrepetitive strain injury, nounresistance, nounrespond, verbretch, verbRhesus factor, nounrheumatic, adjectiverheumatic fever, nounrheumatism, nounrheumatoid arthritis, nounrickets, nounringworm, nounRSI, nounrubella, nounrun-down, adjectiverunny, adjectiverupture, nounsaddle-sore, adjectivesalmonella, nounscab, nounscabby, adjectivescabies, nounscald, verbscald, nounscaly, adjectivescar, nounscar, verbscarlet fever, nounschizophrenia, nounsciatica, nounsclerosis, nounscrape, verbscrape, nounscratch, nounscurvy, nounseasick, adjectiveseizure, nounself-examination, nounsenile, adjectivesenile dementia, nounsenseless, adjectivesepsis, nounseptic, adjectivesepticaemia, nounserum, nounset, verbsexually transmitted disease, nounshell shock, nounshell-shocked, adjectiveshingles, nounshock, nounshort-sighted, adjectivesickle-cell anaemia, nounsickly, adjectivesickness, nounside effect, nounsightless, adjectivesimple fracture, nounsleeping sickness, nounslipped disc, nounsmallpox, nounsnakebite, nounsnow blindness, nounsore, adjectivesore, nounspastic, adjectivespecial needs, nounspecimen, nounspina bifida, nounsprain, verbsputum, nounsquint, verbsquint, nounstammer, nounstarvation, nounstarve, verbSTD, nounstomachache, nounstone, nounstrain, nounstrain, verbstrangulated, adjectivestrep throat, nounstroke, nounsty, nounsuccumb, verbsufferer, nounsunstroke, nounsuperbug, nounsurgical, adjectiveswelling, nounswollen, adjectivesymptom, nounsymptomatic, adjectivesyndrome, nounsyphilis, nounTB, nountear, verbtetanus, nountherapeutic, adjectivetherapy, nounthrombosis, nounthrush, nountic, nountight, adjectivetingle, verbtinnitus, nountipsy, adjectivetonsillitis, nountoothache, nountorment, nountourniquet, nountoxaemia, nountoxic shock syndrome, nountraction, nountransfusion, nountrauma, nountravel sickness, nountreatment, nountremor, nountuberculosis, nountumour, nountunnel vision, nountwinge, nountwitch, nountyphoid, nountyphus, nounulcer, nounulcerate, verbultrasound, noununderweight, adjectiveundressed, adjectiveunhealthy, adjectiveuntreated, adjectivevaccinate, verbvaccine, nounvaricose veins, nounVD, nounvenereal disease, nounverruca, nounvertigo, nounviral, adjectivevirology, nounvirulent, adjectivevomit, verbvomit, nounwart, nounweak, adjectiveweal, nounweep, verbwheeze, verbwheeze, nounwheezy, adjectivewhiplash, nounwhooping cough, nounwind, nounwithered, adjectivewound, nounwrench, verbwriter's cramp, nounyaws, nounyeast infection, nounyellow fever, noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY To complicate matters further, differences exist as regards legal systems, trade customs, and language.COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
To complicate matters further, differences exist as regards legal systems, trade customs, and language.· The Australian health care system is extremely complex.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADVERB· This sort of request has extremely complicated emotional, practical and social repercussions for the people who are left.· In fact they can get extremely complicated.
· The issue is further complicated by the fact that many people remained inconsistent in their Jacobitism.· And the situation was further complicated when Stewart requested that Bell buy out his share in Stax with cash.· Re-melting and alloying further complicate the situation.· This is further complicated by the above-mentioned color changes that occur with growth.· The situation is further complicated because of the tensions created by conflicting expectations.· The matter is further complicated when we note that meanings of words can vary across individual speakers within the same dialect.· The situation is further complicated by recent and impending institutional mergers.· The question of sexuality further complicates racialized encounters, such as racial harassment and violence.
· The resultant local variation in working arrangements has greatly complicated national assessment.· Agglutinates greatly complicate the business of extracting useful materials from mature lunar regolith.· This shuffling around of genes greatly complicates the analysis of evolution.· For some centuries the first reason seemed simple, though it has been greatly complicated by the most recent technical developments.· In both periods, the decision making of governments and enterprises was greatly complicated by the changes in the financial structure.
· Some of these complexes form immensely complicated sequences of nucleic acids which begin to replicate themselves.
· Life is much less complicated as far as Building Regulations approval is concerned.· Far less complicated and far more innocent.· The Houston couple chose an international adoption, because it was faster and less complicated.· Nor did I realize that conversations were usually far less complicated than I supposed.· The questions for the people are less complicated.
· But Schork's relationship with violence and human conflict was much more complicated and had far more depth.· Barkley, to put it mildly, is a bit more complicated.· Hitting smashes is slightly more complicated.· The position regarding the Co-op is more complicated.· The reason is that people are living longer and medical treatment is more complicated and therefore more costly.· Real life is likely to prove rather more complicated, however.· But this turns out to be another heated issue, far more complicated than I originally suspected.
· The topological structure of the decision space can be quite complicated in even a fairly simple program.· Algorithms taking these components into account are quite complicated.· The cybernetic hive can get quite complicated.· The issue can be quite complicated.· A lot of the materials they use are quite complicated and do not have easy-to model properties.· Even within a single processing element, these basic decisions about internal functions can become quite complicated.· From what I can decipher from the papers, the preparation for escape alone is quite complicated.
· The flowchart, to explain how the chemicals are made, is so complicated it resembles a bowl of spaghetti.· Why is everything human so complicated?· There was not time to have so complicated a measure thoroughly discussed in both Houses in a single session.· Something so simple and yet so complicated.· There is simply no justification for making law so complicated for the public.· Sometimes the phenomena are so complicated or the evidence is so mixed that no generalization is possible.· The problem is, the stuff gets so complicated that no one understands it.· No one knows any more, the situation is so complicated.
· And they say bikes are too complicated to get on board.· Unlike such symbols as the cross or spiral, the labyrinth seems too complicated to appear independently in different cultures.· The roots of this deflation are too complicated for discussion here.· Officials say it appears possible but may be too complicated.· Not only have the alternatives proved too costly, they've also been too complicated to use.· Some one had proposed something about her sister accompanying her on blocks, but that scheme was quickly dismissed as too complicated.· For companies, the private work-out is better - as long as the claims that have to be reorganised are not too complicated.· But the film tries to cover a subject far too complicated for its two-hour format.
· As for burial in a churchyard or a church service for the dead person, the position is again a very complicated one.· All she would need to do would be to ask the subject to perform some very complicated arithmetical calculation.· The rules themselves are very complicated.· Only when the very complicated structure of the brain exists will smells come into existence.· After all: which is a very complicated looking expression.· A male moth flies upwind to a scent, and it goes through a very complicated repertoire to do it.· The actual process of collecting was very complicated.· This is a very complicated subject, and we do not propose to go into the matter.
NOUN· The position may be complicated still further in cases where an officer of one authority is a councillor in another.· The difference between what a complicated case of polio could cost and the amount a small county could raise could be staggering.· The situation is more complicated in the case of incompatibility.· The panel is expected to begin deliberating the complicated case later this week.· We report on a case of thrombosis of a splenic artery pseudoaneurysm complicating chronic pancreatitis.· Lawyers frequently make use of print displays to explicate the details of a complicated case.
· The issue is further complicated by the fact that many people remained inconsistent in their Jacobitism.· The situation was complicated by the fact that a further United Kingdom election was expected some time during the autumn.· Use of acronyms is complicated by the fact that many now have multiple meanings.· The position is further complicated by the fact that pressure groups can be closely or even officially associated with parties.· Things were complicated by the fact that Bodnar was due in at the Venice airport.· The analysis was complicated slightly by the fact that some of the top 20 firms had registered with more than one regulator.· Their lives were complicated by the fact that each was working on other projects at the same time.
· The readerly subjectivity condition marginally complicates the issue, but the autonomous nature of the situation remains.· My notion is that the complicated issue of welfare is the biggest problem facing this nation and this society at this time.· The enormously complicated issue comes under the code name the Half-Way Covenant.· But it is exactly the complicated, technical issue that will make or break Kyoto.· On some other questions about politics, description requires assessments that raise complicated issues about power, interests, and values.· This tends to complicate the tax issues.· This complicates the issue of choice but is essentially a good thing from the point of view of potential students.
· He so disliked them that when he became archbishop it complicated his life.· Still, a complicated life may be the perfect reason to start a new one.· I hazard a guess that there are not only pure stallions on the moor; fate and carelessness always complicates herd life.· Inevitably I fell for him, thereby complicating my life horrendously and introducing an unexpected wild card into his.· It is a sophisticated introduction to Weil, to the complicated life and mind in a short space.· The removal of the cupboard and the sealing up of the women's rest-room had seriously complicated his life.· Hayling had let them know that the move would complicate his personal life.
· Inevitable political interest in local development will also continue to complicate matters.· This does not invalidate Freud's approach, but it does complicate matters more than he suggests.· Reviews instances in which the Agency's activities have complicated matters or deterred developers from going ahead.· The other valentines were a more complicated matter.· To complicate matters some cells behave linearly under some conditions and non-linearly under others.· For many novices, the mechanics of sending e-mail are a complicated matter.
· A further element may enter here to complicate the picture.· But then, as so often happens in science, more research complicated the picture.· It is largely this lag that initiates demographic transition but other factors undoubtedly complicate the picture.· Several of the determinants of the demand for physician services have complicated the picture by dramatically changing over the last two decades.· But other factors complicate the picture.
· Other rules further complicate the position.
· Information systems simultaneously simplify and complicate the problem.
· It was then that she reflected how complicated a process it was, this travelling by tube.· But these raw ingredients complicated the process.· The new editorial policy complicates the process of producing authorised versions, but it does not substantially change it.· This is a complicated process, since what is possible depends heavily on what we believe.· The organizational complexity of such a state necessarily complicates the implementation process.· The suddenness of the death in a disaster like this complicates the mourning process.· Although calibration complicates the process of interpreting the radiocarbon results, it is essential.· With that behind it, the project will continue a lengthy and complicated approval process.
· But he soon discovered its factory answers to the complicated questions he put to them.· For the provincial press, any calculation is complicated by questions of market boundaries and different types of publication.· But the decision the President had to make was more subtle and politically complicated than any question of scheduling or agenda.· A larger, more complicated set of questions then came to replace the first simple questions.· This volatility might be due to limited interest or to the sheer difficulty of trying to understand complicated political questions. 5.
· Re-melting and alloying further complicate the situation.· Many of his difficulties now look like an honest attempt to find simple patterns in complicated situations.· Sarah, who lived near to the Brompton Hospital, visited her father regularly although Raine's hostility complicated an already fraught situation.
· Only when the very complicated structure of the brain exists will smells come into existence.· Such experiences are not accidental by-products of complicated physical structures.
· The complicated tariff system loosely based on distance, bandwidth and utility will be replaced by simpler mechanisms.· Some slippage in deadlines is to be expected when overhauling something as complicated as an operating system.· In a complicated system, though, tinkering with one component can put another one out of kilter.· Economic systems and the concepts used in economics can seem as complicated as political systems and the concepts used in political science.· The formalism of quantum mechanics makes no distinction, in this respect, between single particles and complicated systems of many particles.· Humans, however, being relatively enormous, must rely on a complicated waste-elimination system.· Why not allow other symbols from some more complicated numbering system or alphabet?
· This will further complicate the task of the police and further deter victims from reporting.· Last month the senator complicated their task by reiterating his support for some exceptions to a constitutional amendment banning abortion.
· This tends to complicate the tax issues.
· What complicates things, though, is the existence within the official economy of several different kinds of shops.· But this was no time to complicate things by being sidetracked by Ian.· Of course, complicated things consist of lots of simpler things.· Plant and animal cells are complicated things.· Swarms highlight the complicated side of real things.· But this will delay and complicate things.· The proper awareness required to appreciate the swarm nature of complicated things might be called hive mind.
VERB· He so disliked them that when he became archbishop it complicated his life.· But if little has changed about the way tobacco is farmed, the aggravations have become deeper and more complicated.· When a science gets to the end of the road it becomes too complicated for its own good.· He needed time to think; everything had become complicated.· Force two females to share a nest, and things become more complicated.· At this point, following the cash budget becomes slightly more complicated.· Defining the Long Mynd becomes even more complicated.· Even within a single processing element, these basic decisions about internal functions can become quite complicated.
WORD FAMILYnouncomplicationadjectivecomplicated ≠ uncomplicatedverbcomplicate
1to make a problem or situation more difficult: The situation is complicated by the fact that I’ve got to work late on Friday. To complicate matters further, differences exist as regards legal systems, trade customs, and language.2to make an illness worse: a heart condition complicated by pneumoniaGRAMMAR Complicate is usually passive in this meaning.