complexities

noun

plural of complexity
as in complications
something that makes a situation more complicated or difficult the political complexities that the secretary-general must deal with

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of complexities Winner of the Envision Award, which is provided to a project that explores the complexities of shared society by combating prejudice and hate. — Katie Campione, Deadline, 4 Aug. 2026 The bright artwork and friendly prose capture the complexities of kids’ emotions and celebrate the fun that a loving caregiver and child can have together even when life feels tough. — Literary Hub, 3 Aug. 2026 Meanwhile, internal complexities across departments and tight computing resources have also slowed model development. — CNBC, 3 Aug. 2026 This use of collaging politicized pin-back buttons into a seemingly serene yellow flower works to convey a message about the complexities of women who are intellectually, civically and emotionally sophisticated beyond face-value aesthetics. — Elizabeth Grace Coyne, Forbes.com, 31 July 2026 Because of the randomness of some of these things and complexities like deletions, many of the individual inferences about history will be wrong. — ArsTechnica, 31 July 2026 What follows next are rapid-fire jokes that take aim at everything from who won the Civil War to the complexities of same-sex relationships. — Chris Snellgrove, Entertainment Weekly, 25 July 2026 These experts are trained to recognize and classify water tastes, understand the complexities of drinking water, and identify differences in minerals, flavor, and mouthfeel. — Timothy Dale, Better Homes & Gardens, 21 July 2026 Another Schiller inquiry involves the familiar complexities of Medicare. — Los Angeles Times, 20 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for complexities
  1. complications
  2. difficulties
  3. intricacies
Noun
  • Postmenopausal women experienced more postoperative complications within 30 days after the surgery than premenopausal women, and men and postmenopausal women had higher postoperative bleeding rates.
    — Crystal Gwizdala, Hartford Courant, 1 Aug. 2026
  • Typically, front office exits such as Yzerman’s occur in mid-April; starting a search in mid-July creates obvious potential complications — namely, that training camp begins in seven weeks.
    — Max Bultman, New York Times, 30 July 2026
Definition of complications
Noun
  • The project to give the pool a facelift to celebrate the United States’ 250th birthday began in April, but has been beset by difficulties after it became plagued by an algae bloom and the pool’s new blue lining began to peel.
    — Emily Hallas, The Washington Examiner, 1 Aug. 2026
  • The economic difficulties, energy blackouts, Internet restrictions, and general wartime fatigue have pushed Putin’s approval ratings from around 80 percent at the beginning of the year to 66 percent in mid-July.
    — Alexander Gabuev, Foreign Affairs, 31 July 2026
Definition of difficulties
Noun
  • Such federal funding intricacies could seem far removed from the denizens of a tent city under the highway in San Diego.
    — Eric Boodman, STAT, 31 July 2026
  • Those of us who attended a Southern university are aware of the hilarious intricacies of the experience.
    — Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 31 July 2026
Definition of intricacies

Browse Nearby Words

complexions
complexities
complexity
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Complexities.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/complexities. Accessed 6 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on complexities

Nglish: Translation of complexities for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of torpor

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

'Sneaked' or 'Snuck': Which is correct?

Why does English have so many silent letters?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Aug. 7

How long is a jiffy?
See More

Popular

See More

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
asap street sign
Figure Out These Acronyms ASAP You don't have to be a NASA engineer to get these...
See All