complicated

adjective

com·​pli·​cat·​ed ˈkäm-plə-ˌkā-təd 

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

Synonyms

• baroque
• byzantine
• complex
• complicate
• convoluted
• daedal
• elaborate
• intricate
• involute
• involved
• knotty
• labyrinthian
• labyrinthine
• sophisticated
• tangled

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

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

Word History

Etymology

from past participle of complicate entry 1

First Known Use

1656, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for complicated

• abdicated
• abrogated
• acclimated
• activated
• actuated
• adumbrated
• advocated
• aggravated
• aggregated
• agitated
• allocated
• alternated

Kids Definition

complicated

adjective

com·​pli·​cat·​ed ˈkäm-plə-ˌkāt-əd 

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