verb
complicate
KOMP-lih-kayt
verb
1
To make something more difficult or intricate than it needs to be.
"Adding more clauses only complicated the contract."
"Please don't complicate things by bringing up the past."
2
(medicine) Of a condition, to develop alongside and worsen another illness.
"A chest infection complicated her recovery from surgery."
How to Use Complicate
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishTo make something harder to understand or deal with by adding extra parts or problems.
Common mistake
Don't confuse the verb "complicate" with the adjective "complicated" — "this will complicate matters" vs "this is complicated."
Easily confused with
Common pairings
complicate matters
complicate things
further complicate
Word Forms
more complicate comparative, complicated past tense, complicates singular, most complicate superlative
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Adding more clauses only _____ the contract.
Etymology
From Latin complicatus, "folded together," from com- ("together") + plicare ("to fold") — the same root that gives us "complex" and "plait."