intricate

CEFRC1

/ˈɪn.tɹɪ.kət/

adjective · verb

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    adjective

    Having many small parts arranged in a complicated way.

  2. 02

    adjective

    Extra detail

    Difficult to disentangle, puzzle apart, or resolve; enigmatic, obscure.

Examples

  • I can see some intricate patterns in the picture.

  • The statesman barely coped with the intricate issue.

At a glance

Sits at C1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
2
Citations
5
Synonyms
2

Also pronounced

  • /ˈɪn.tɹɪ.keɪt/

Deep Dive

adjective

Extra meanings

  1. To become enmeshed or entangled.

  2. Having a great deal of fine detail or complexity.

verb

Extra meaning

  1. To enmesh or entangle: to cause to intricate.

More examples

In context

  • […] washes off easily, without sticking or intricating into the wound.

  • But the British and French won't hear of that; they want to get their troops extricated and our ground troops intricated.

  • The architecture of this clock is very intricate.

Synonyms

Antonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The watchmaker repaired the blank clock mechanism with hundreds of tiny gears.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

adjective

From Middle English intricat(e) (“entangled, intricate”), from Latin intrīcātus, perfect passive participle of intricō, see -ate (adjective-forming suffix).