# complication

Pronunciation: US say "kom-pluh-KAY-shuhn" /ˌkɑm.pləˈkeɪ.ʃən/; UK say "kom-pli-KAY-shuhn" /ˌkɒm.plɪˈkeɪ.ʃən/

## Noun

1. The state of being complicated; an intricate or confused arrangement of parts.
   - Simple: The state of having many parts that are hard to follow or understand.
   - _The sheer complication of the design overwhelmed the new engineers._
   - _Adding more characters only increased the complication of the plot._
2. The act or process of making something more complicated.
   - Simple: The act of making something harder to do or understand.
   - _The needless complication of the form-filling frustrated nearly every applicant._
   - _Each amendment contributed to the steady complication of an originally simple contract._
3. A secondary disease or condition that arises alongside a primary illness and modifies it, though not necessarily linked to it.
   - Simple: An extra health problem that happens along with a main illness and makes it worse.
   - _Pneumonia is a frequent complication in patients recovering from severe influenza._
   - _Doctors monitored her closely for any complication following the transplant._
4. A function in a watch or clock that goes beyond the basic display of time.
   - Simple: Any working feature on a watch that does more than just show the time.
   - _The watch's most prized complication displays the current phase of the moon._
   - _Collectors will pay a premium for a chronograph complication built into a slim case._
5. A person who does not fit into the overall scheme of things, someone who has intruded where they do not belong.
   - Simple: A person who does not fit into the plan and has come in where they do not belong.
   - _To the tight-knit committee, the newcomer was just a complication who slowed their work._
   - _The detective's tidy theory had no place for the stranger seen at the dock, a complication she kept coming back to._

## Origin

Borrowed from Middle French 'complication', from Latin 'complicatio' (accusative 'complicationem'); it can also be analysed as 'complicate' plus the suffix '-ion'.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/complication (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).