Complex Meaning
/ˈkɒmplɛks/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
adjMade up of multiple parts; composite; not simple.
adjNot simple, easy, or straightforward; complicated.
Sentence Examples
Their communication may be much more complex than we thought.
What seems simple to you seems complex to me.
Accurately assessing environmental impacts is very complex.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
CEFR Practice Quiz
The math problem was too ____ for the elementary students to solve.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The engine has a highly ____ design that makes it very hard to repair.
Word Origin & History
From French complexe, from Latin complexus, past participle of complector (“to entwine, encircle, compass, infold”), from com- (“together”) and plectō (“to weave, braid”). May be analyzed as com- + -plex. See complect. Doublet of complexus.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Ideas thus made up of several simple ones put together, I call complex; such as beauty, gratitude, a man, an army, the universe."
— 1689 (indicated as 1690), [John Locke], chapter 2, in An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding. […], London: […] Eliz[abeth] Holt, for Thomas Basset, […], →OCLC, book I, page 12:
"If, when the actual motions of the heavens are calculated in the best possible way, the process is complex and difficult, and if we are discontented at this, nature, and not the astronomer, must be the object of our displeasure."
— 1837, William Whewell, “Inductive Epoch of Hipparchus”, in History of the Inductive Sciences, from the Earliest to the Present Times. […], volume I, London: John W[illiam] Parker, […]; Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: J. and J. J. Deighton, →OCLC, book III (History of Greek Astronomy), section 2 (Estimate of the Value of the Theory of Eccentrics and Epicycles), page 183:
"The south polar region of Promethei Planum developed a Bermuda Triangle reputation. Satellites detected intermittent mass concentrations and magnetic field shifts. In 2148, prospectors working near Deseado Crater discovered an underground complex: a Prothean observation post. The odd phenomena were generated by the operation and discharge of a mass effect core, struggling to function despite fifty millennia of neglect."
— 2008, BioWare, Mass Effect (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →ISBN, →OCLC, PC, scene: Protheans: Mars Ruins Codex entry:
"A man at the complex said he had seen the often heavily made-up girls coming and going in luxury vehicles."
— 2021 February 6, The Courier-Mail, Brisbane, page 4, column 1:
"This parable of the wedding supper comprehends in it the whole complex of all the blessings and privileges exhibited by the gospel."
— 1692–1717, Robert South, Twelve Sermons Preached upon Several Occasions, volume (please specify |volume=I to VI), London:
Explore More B1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The math problem was too ____ for the elementary students to solve.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The engine has a highly ____ design that makes it very hard to repair.