com·plex
(kəm-plĕkś, kŏḿplĕkś)
[Latin complexus past participle of complectī, to entwine; see complect.]
adjective
- Consisting of interconnected or interwoven parts; composite.
- Composed of two or more units: a complex carbohydrate.
- Involved or intricate, as in structure; complicated.
- Grammar
- Consisting of at least one bound form. Used of a word.
- Consisting of an independent clause and at least one other independent or dependent clause. Used of a sentence.
noun
- A whole composed of interconnected or interwoven parts: a complex of cities and suburbs; the military-industrial complex.
- In psychology, a group of related, often repressed ideas and impulses that compel characteristic or habitual patterns of thought, feelings, and behavior. No longer in scientific use.
- An exaggerated or obsessive concern or fear.
- Medicine The combination of factors, symptoms, or signs of a disease or disorder that forms a syndrome.
derivatives
- com·plex́ly
- adverb
- com·plex́ness
- noun
synonyms:
complex, complicated, intricate, involved, tangled, knotty These adjectives mean having parts so interconnected as to make the whole perplexing. Complex implies a combination of many associated parts: The composer transformed a simple folk tune into a complex set of variations. Complicated stresses elaborate relationship of parts: The party's complicated platform confused many voters. Intricate refers to a pattern of intertwining parts that is difficult to follow or analyze: “No one could soar into a more intricate labyrinth of refined phraseology” (Anthony Trollope) Involved stresses confusion arising from the commingling of parts and the consequent difficulty of separating them: The movie's plot was criticized as being too involved. Tangled strongly suggests the random twisting of many parts: “Oh, what a tangled web we weave,/When first we practice to deceive!” (Sir Walter Scott) Knotty stresses intellectual complexity leading to difficulty of solution or comprehension: Even the professor couldn't clarify the knotty point.
