complex
pronunciation
How to pronounce complex in British English:
UK [ˈkɒmpleks]
How to pronounce complex in American English:
US [kəmˈpleks , ˈkɑːmpleks]
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- Noun:
- a conceptual whole made up of complicated and related parts
- a compound described in terms of the central atom to which other atoms are bound or coordinated
- (psychoanalysis) a combination of emotions and impulses that have been rejected from awareness but still influence a person's behavior
- a whole structure (as a building) made up of interconnected or related structures
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- Adjective:
- complicated in structure; consisting of interconnected parts
Word Origin
- complex (adj.)
- 1650s, "composed of parts," from French complexe "complicated, complex, intricate" (17c.), from Latin complexus "surrounding, encompassing," past participle of complecti "to encircle, embrace," in transferred use, "to hold fast, master, comprehend," from com- "with" (see com-) + plectere "to weave, braid, twine, entwine," from PIE *plek-to-, from root *plek- "to plait" (see ply (v.1)). The meaning "not easily analyzed" is first recorded 1715. Complex sentence is attested from 1881.
- complex (n.)
- 1650s, "a whole comprised of parts," from complex (adj.). Psychological sense of "connected group of repressed ideas" was established by C.G. Jung, 1907.
Synonym
Example
- 1. Fiscal policy is far more complex .
- 2. This can be very handy for understanding complex declarations .
- 3. His relationships with gladstone and disraeli were complex .
- 4. China may have come unknotted from its nobel complex .
- 5. Saliva of medical leeches is a balanced complex of biologically active substances .