complication
Pluralcomplications (some meanings)
- 1The state of having many parts that are hard to follow or understand.
Like a ball of string with many knots tangled together.
The complication of the machine made it hard to fix.
Too much complication in the story confused the young readers.
Similarcomplexity, intricacy, convolution
Oppositesimplicity, clarity
- 2The act of making something harder to do or understand.
Like adding knot after knot to a rope until it is hard to use.
The complication of the rules came from adding too many exceptions.
We tried to avoid the complication of the plan by keeping it short.
Similarelaboration, convolution
Oppositesimplification, streamlining
Note
- 3An extra health problem that happens along with a main illness and makes it worse.
Like a small leak that starts while you are already busy fixing a bigger problem.
A common complication of diabetes is poor blood flow in the feet.
The surgery went well, but an infection became a serious complication.
Note
- 4Any working feature on a watch that does more than just show the time.
Like extra tools on a pocketknife that do more than just cut.
This watch has a complication that shows the date.
He paid extra for a complication that tracks the phases of the moon.
Note
- 5A person who does not fit into the plan and has come in where they do not belong.
The new manager saw the old worker as a complication and pushed him out.
She felt like a complication at the party where everyone already knew each other.
Similarinterloper, intruder, outsider, anomaly
Practice
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Origin
It came from a Latin word 'complicatio', through Middle French 'complication'.