complicated

1 of 2

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

complicated

2 of 2

past tense and past participle of complicate entry 1

Synonyms of complicated

Adjective

• complicate
• intricate
• complex
• sophisticated

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

Adjective

The game's rules are too complicated.

The machine has a complicated design.

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

Quaid was immediately moved by the story and how the filmmakers brought the complicated subject to life. — Lily Brown, PEOPLE, 1 Sep. 2026

Though real life, and 9/11, have proved to be more complicated than that. — Susan Page, USA Today, 1 Sep. 2026

If your plan was to kill trust—in journalism, within organizations, and in the public consciousness—the best way to do it would not be to build some complicated bazaar of secret brokers, but to launch an anonymous public market for predictions. — Finn Brunton, Harpers Magazine, 1 Sep. 2026

After the chaotic events of the Season 1 finale, the new episodes pick up with Sophie and Margo on the outs but pulled back into another dangerous game of cat and mouse that will make their situationship all the more complicated and angsty. — Maira Garcia, Los Angeles Times, 1 Sep. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

from past participle of complicate entry 1

First Known Use

Adjective

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