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

But Amazon’s complicated technology has not worked well enough to justify the cost. —Shira Ovide, Washington Post, 5 Apr. 2024

In a world undergoing a complicated, urgent energy transition, Aramco’s continued health—and Saudi Arabia’s—will depend on how well the energy giant both shapes and adapts to the changes. —Vivienne Walt, Fortune, 4 Apr. 2024

And these social media platforms themselves have complicated relationships with political, or newsy, content. —Makena Kelly, WIRED, 4 Apr. 2024

Shari’s Preferred Path Emerges The path forward for Paramount appears to be slowly coming into focus around a complicated deal that would call for Skydance to acquire National Amusements, which is privately held and controlled by Redstone. —Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 3 Apr. 2024

He’s also opened up about some of the more complicated aspects of his grandmother’s legacy in a previous social media post. —Kimmy Yam, NBC News, 3 Apr. 2024

Elsewhere in Rebel Rising, Wilson writes about waiting to lose her virginity until age 35, her complicated relationship with her volatile father and her experience working with Sacha Baron Cohen. —Jack Smart, Peoplemag, 3 Apr. 2024

The world's current conflicts are likewise complicated and human, too. —Kelly Lawler, USA TODAY, 1 Apr. 2024

Often, though, researchers want to study something more complicated than a one-dimensional signal. —Quanta Magazine, 1 Apr. 2024

Word History

Etymology

from past participle of complicate entry 1

First Known Use

1656, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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