complicated

adjective

com·​pli·​cat·​ed ˈkäm-plə-ˌkā-təd How to pronounce complicated (audio)
1
: consisting of parts intricately combined
a complicated recipe
complicated machinery
2
: difficult to analyze, understand, or explain
a complicated issue
his absurdly complicated life
complicatedly adverb
complicatedness noun
Choose the Right Synonym for complicated

complex, complicated, intricate, involved, knotty mean having confusingly interrelated parts.

complex suggests the unavoidable result of a necessary combining and does not imply a fault or failure.

a complex recipe

complicated applies to what offers great difficulty in understanding, solving, or explaining.

complicated legal procedures

intricate suggests such interlacing of parts as to make it nearly impossible to follow or grasp them separately.

an intricate web of deceit

involved implies extreme complication and often disorder.

a rambling, involved explanation

knotty suggests complication and entanglement that make solution or understanding improbable.

knotty ethical questions

Examples of complicated in a Sentence

The game's rules are too complicated. The machine has a complicated design.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The result is a mosaic of broods that makes the jigsaw puzzle of periodical cicada distribution more complicated, but more interesting. Chris Simon, The Conversation, 22 May 2025 My work centers Native characters who are fully human: messy, funny, complicated. Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 22 May 2025 Finding the time to have a conversation about a topic as complicated as the value of prostate-cancer screening can be challenging for most primary-care physicians, oncologists interviewed for this story said. Ronnie Cohen, NPR, 21 May 2025 This collaboration with the oppressor, rather than solidarity with the oppressed, makes Nat a complicated heroine. Catherine Bray, Variety, 21 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for complicated

Word History

Etymology

from past participle of complicate entry 1

First Known Use

1656, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of complicated was in 1656

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Complicated.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/complicated. Accessed 28 May. 2025.

Kids Definition

complicated

adjective
com·​pli·​cat·​ed ˈkäm-plə-ˌkāt-əd How to pronounce complicated (audio)
1
: consisting of many combined parts
complicated machinery
2
: difficult to analyze, understand, or explain : complex
complicatedly adverb
complicatedness noun

Medical Definition

complicated

adjective
com·​pli·​cat·​ed
of a bone fracture
: characterized by injury to nearby parts

More from Merriam-Webster on complicated

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