51³Ô¹Ï

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View synonyms for

complex

[kuhm-pleks, kom-pleks, kom-pleks]

adjective

  1. composed of many interconnected parts; compound; composite.

    a complex highway system.

  2. characterized by a very complicated or involved arrangement of parts, units, etc..

    complex machinery.

    Antonyms:
  3. so complicated or intricate as to be hard to understand or deal with.

    a complex problem.

    Synonyms: , ,
    Antonyms:
  4. Grammar.Ìý

    1. (of a word) consisting of two parts, at least one of which is a bound form, as childish, which consists of the word child and the bound form -ish.

    2. complex sentence.

  5. Mathematics.Ìýpertaining to or using complex numbers.

    complex methods; complex vector space.



noun

  1. an intricate or complicated association or assemblage of related things, parts, units, etc..

    the entire complex of our educational system; an apartment complex.

    Synonyms: , , ,
  2. Psychology.Ìýa system of interrelated, emotion-charged ideas, feelings, memories, and impulses that is usually repressed and that gives rise to abnormal or pathological behavior.

  3. a fixed idea; an obsessive notion.

  4. Mathematics.Ìý

    1. an arbitrary set of elements of a group.

    2. a collection of simplexes having specified properties.

  5. Also called coordination compound.ÌýChemistry.Ìýa compound in which independently existing molecules or ions of a nonmetal complexing agent form coordinate bonds with a metal atom or ion.

  6. Biochemistry.Ìýan entity composed of molecules in which the constituents maintain much of their chemical identity.

    receptor-hormone complex, enzyme-substrate complex.

verb (used with object)

  1. Chemistry.Ìýto form a complex with.

verb (used without object)

  1. Chemistry.Ìýto form a complex.

complex

/ ˈ°ìÉ’³¾±è±ôÉ›°ì²õ /

adjective

  1. made up of various interconnected parts; composite

  2. (of thoughts, writing, etc) intricate or involved

  3. grammar

    1. (of a word) containing at least one bound form

    2. (of a noun phrase) containing both a lexical noun and an embedded clause, as for example the italicized parts of the following sentence: I didn't know the man who served me

    3. (of a sentence) formed by subordination of one clause to another

  4. maths of or involving one or more complex numbers

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged†2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

  1. a whole made up of interconnected or related parts

    a building complex

  2. psychoanal a group of emotional ideas or impulses that have been banished from the conscious mind but that continue to influence a person's behaviour

  3. informalÌýan obsession or excessive fear

    he's got a complex about cats

  4. Also called: coordination compound.Ìýa chemical compound in which molecules, groups, or ions are attached to a central metal atom, esp a transition metal atom, by coordinate bonds

  5. any chemical compound in which one molecule is linked to another by a coordinate bond

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged†2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Usage

Complex is sometimes wrongly used where complicated is meant. Complex is properly used to say only that something consists of several parts. It should not be used to say that, because something consists of many parts, it is difficult to understand or analyse
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Other 51³Ô¹Ï Forms

  • complexly adverb
  • complexness noun
  • overcomplex adjective
  • quasi-complex adjective
  • quasi-complexly adverb
  • supercomplex adjective
  • uncomplex adjective
  • uncomplexly adverb
  • uncomplexness noun
  • ˈ³¦´Ç³¾±è±ô±ð³æ±ô²â adverb
  • ˈ³¦´Ç³¾±è±ô±ð³æ²Ô±ð²õ²õ noun
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51³Ô¹Ï History and Origins

Origin of complex1

First recorded in 1645–55; 1905–10 complex for def. 7; adjective from Latin complexus, past participle of ³¦´Ç³¾±è±ô±ð³¦³ÙÄ«, complectere “to embrace, encompass, include,†equivalent to complect- ( complect ) + -tus past participle suffix; noun from Late Latin complexus “totality, complex†( Latin: “inclusion, grasping, embraceâ€), equivalent to complect(ere) + -tus suffix of verb action; reanalysis of the Latin verb as “to intertwine (completely)†influenced sense of the adjective
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51³Ô¹Ï History and Origins

Origin of complex1

C17: from Latin complexus, from ³¦´Ç³¾±è±ô±ð³¦³ÙÄ« to entwine, from com- together + plectere to braid
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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

He said the printing process was "highly complex and technical" with each letter arranged backwards and several pages printed on one sheet.

From

"It is inevitable that a change in the law would create many complex and often competing challenges," he says.

From

It turns out that making shoes in a new way, and at scale, is complex and expensive.

From

He now teaches at USC and a couple days a week at the YMF school, tucked into the ground floor of a subsidized housing complex.

From

There’s a discernible pattern here that I don’t claim to understand, although I'm afraid the most likely explanation can be summed up with the words “military-industrial complex.â€

From

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