COMPLICATE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does complicate mean? 

• COMPLICATE (verb)
  The verb COMPLICATE has 2 senses:

1. make more complicated

2. make more complex, intricate, or richer

  Familiarity information: COMPLICATE used as a verb is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• COMPLICATE (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they complicate    ... he / she / it complicates   
Past simple: complicated   
Past participle: complicated   
-ing form: complicating   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Make more complicated

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Synonyms:

complicate; perplex

Context example:

There was a new development that complicated the matter

Hypernyms (to "complicate" is one way to...):

alter; change; modify (cause to change; make different; cause a transformation)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "complicate"):

complexify (make complex)

embrangle; snarl; snarl up (make more complicated or confused through entanglements)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Antonym:

simplify (make simpler or easier or reduce in complexity or extent)

Derivation:

complication (the act or process of complicating)

complication (a development that complicates a situation)

complication (a situation or condition that is complex or confused)

complication (any disease or disorder that occurs during the course of (or because of) another disease)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Make more complex, intricate, or richer

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Synonyms:

complicate; elaborate; rarify; refine

Context example:

refine a design or pattern

Hypernyms (to "complicate" is one way to...):

alter; change; modify (cause to change; make different; cause a transformation)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "complicate"):

involve (make complex or intricate or complicated)

develop (elaborate by the unfolding of a musical idea and by the working out of the rhythmic and harmonic changes in the theme)

sophisticate (make more complex or refined)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Derivation:

complication (the act or process of complicating)

complication (puzzling complexity)

 Context examples 

But, education is itself a very complicated outcome.

(Researchers identify genetic links to educational attainment, NIH)

The solar wind of particles streaming off the sun helps drive flows and swirls in space as complicated as any terrestrial weather pattern.

(Messenger spots giant space weather effects at Mercury, NASA)

By the time the disease is found, it typically is quite advanced, complicating treatment and leading to poorer outcomes.

(New Approach to Pancreatic Cancer Screening May Help Catch Disease Earlier, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

The models get more complicated when the different forms of ice are taken into account.

(Ganymede may harbor 'club sandwich' of oceans and ice, NASA)

The distance of the dwarf galaxy is another complicating factor.

(Mysterious Radio Signals Detected from Deep Space, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

Clouds and hazes create a variety of complicated effects that researchers must work to disentangle from the signature of these alien atmospheres, and thus present a major obstacle for understanding transit observations.

(Sunsets on Titan reveal the complexity of hazy exoplanets, NASA)

The study used pregnant sheep to show that maternal treatment with the antioxidant vitamin C during a complicated pregnancy could protect the adult offspring from developing hypertension and heart disease.

(Heart disease risk begins in the womb, University of Cambridge)

Extreme heat, incredibly high pressures and poor access to nutrients typically complicate the ability for life to survive and thrive.

(Researchers Create New Model of Ecosystem Hidden Beneath Earth, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

Mrs. Ferrars too—in short it has been a scene of such complicated distress—but I will hope that the storm may be weathered without our being any of us quite overcome.

(Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen)

Defects in genes that are involved in cilia development or function can cause complicated syndromes, called ciliopathies, that involve multiple organs and tissues.

(Protein critical to cilia development, NIH)