Synonyms
Examples of complicate in a Sentence
Tracy K. Smith, The New Yorker, 15 Apr. 2024
Although her relationship with her mother was complicated, Lisa remains interested in Nina's legacy and has helped to produce two films about her life.
—Jessica Booth, Peoplemag, 14 Apr. 2024
That has the potential to complicate the funding picture for Baltimore.
—Jacob Bogage, Washington Post, 11 Apr. 2024
No workers were injured, but the incident does further complicate Europe’s energy situation.
—Melvin Backman, Quartz, 11 Apr. 2024
Sourcing weapons from Iran could complicate relations for the Sudanese military with the United States, which is leading a push for negotiations between the warring parties.
—Reuters, NBC News, 10 Apr. 2024
Hamas, though, wanted to keep the population in place to serve as human shields and to complicate the Israeli military’s operations.
—Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib, The Atlantic, 10 Apr. 2024
All of this can be complicated and feel overwhelming because one wrong move could affect your credit score for years.
—Medora Lee, USA TODAY, 7 Apr. 2024
What could complicate that, though, is a low-pressure system developing in the Great Plains.
—David Clarey, Journal Sentinel, 31 Mar. 2024
USA TODAY, 13 Apr. 2024
The world’s biggest economy is importing more from its southern neighbor than China for the first time in decades, as tensions with Beijing complicate things.
—Susan Howson, Quartz, 11 Feb. 2024
California ‘Conflicting statements’ complicate investigation into Jewish man’s death at protest
Nov. 7, 2023
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The Ventura County Sheriff’s Office said the incident was reported just after 3:20 p.m. Sunday.
—Grace Toohey, Los Angeles Times, 8 Nov. 2023
Secret audio, a star witness, and 'Thai prostitutes' complicate Sam Bankman-Fried's defense
Gemini’s owners, the Winklevoss twins, have said Genesis owed more than $900 million to some 340,000 customers using the Earn program.
—Allison Morrow, CNN, 19 Oct. 2023
Bananas have high sugar which can lead to or further complicate diabetes in your cat.
—Olivia Munson, USA TODAY, 3 Aug. 2023
For winemakers, 2020 was the year that ‘dropped us to our knees’
Second, spring frosts complicate planning for the autumn’s harvest, especially when damage is scattered throughout a vineyard rather than uniform.
—Dave McIntyre, Washington Post, 6 July 2023
The decision in this case could heighten scrutiny of large companies in their treatment of workers who belong to groups protected against discrimination as well as complicate efforts to discipline workers charged with improving a company's performance on racial justice issues, experts said.
—Max Zahn, ABC News, 16 June 2023
Those all significantly complicate hitting them with interceptor missiles.
—Sébastien Roblin, Popular Mechanics, 8 June 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'complicate.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Verb
earlier, "to fold together, intertwine, combine in an involved manner," borrowed from Medieval Latin complicātus, past participle of complicāre "to fold together, wrap around, envelop, interweave" — more at complicate entry 2
Adjective
borrowed from Medieval Latin complicātus, from past participle of complicāre "to fold together, wrap around, envelop, interweave," going back to Latin, "to fold together, fold up," from com- com- + plicāre "to fold, bend" — more at ply entry 3
Phrases Containing complicate
Articles Related to complicate
Dictionary Entries Near complicate
Cite this Entry
“Complicate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/complicate. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
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Kids Definition
complicate
verb
Medical Definition
complicate
transitive verb
More from Merriam-Webster on complicate
Nglish: Translation of complicate for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of complicate for Arabic Speakers
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