complex

Made up of multiple parts; composite; not simple.

Adjective

  1. Made up of multiple parts; composite; not simple.
    • a complex being; a complex idea
    • The human body is a complex system made up of many layers.
    • 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...
  2. Not simple, easy, or straightforward; complicated.
    • 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...

    Synonyms: complicated detailed difficult hard intricate involved tough

    Antonyms: basic easy simple simplex straightforward as a duck takes to water easy as 123 easy as ABC easy as cake easy as pie easy as falling off a log easy as rolling off a log easy as toffee easy-breezy easy peasy easy peasy Japanesey easy peasy lemon squeezy eath effortless facile idiotproof light like a duck takes to water like falling off a log

  3. Having the form a + bi, where a and b are real numbers and i is (by definition) the imaginary square root of −1.
    • complex number
    • function of a complex variable
  4. Whose range is a subset of the complex numbers.
    • complex function
  5. Whose coefficients are complex numbers; defined over the field of complex numbers.
    • complex polynomial
    • complex algebraic variety
  6. A curve, polygon or other figure that crosses or intersects itself.

Origin

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.

Forms

more complex complexer most complex complexest

Synonyms

complex complexed complicate complicated convoluted Gordian involute intricate involutional involved knotty labyrinthal labyrinthine manifold

Antonyms

incomplex noncomplex noncomplicated simple simplex straightforward uncomplex uncomplexed uncomplicated unconvoluted

Hypernyms

detailed difficult

Hyponyms

confusing out of one's depth over one's head overdesigned Pynchonesque

Related

complexion symplectic complexity complication

Derived

bicomplex complex analysis complex compound complex conjugate complex conjugate root theorem complex conjugation complex-differentiable complex fraction complex function complex geometry complexification complexified complexify complexifying complexin complex ion complexity complex line complexly complex marriage complex measure complexness complex number complexologist

Noun

  1. A network of interconnected systems.
    • military–industrial complex
  2. A collection of buildings with a common purpose, such as a university or military base.
    • 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...
    • 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:
  3. An assemblage of related things; a collection.
    • 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...

    1. An organized cluster of thunderstorms.

    2. A cluster of wildfires burning in the same vicinity.

      • The fire complex began as two separate fires.
      • As of early Wednesday, there were at least 25 major wildfires and fire complexes, the term given to multiple fires in a single geographic area, burning in California, Christine McMorrow, a Cal Fire information officer,...

    3. (taxonomy) A group of closely related species, often distinguished only with difficulty by traditional morphological methods.

      • Since then, a good deal of research has documented and concluded that the nominal species A. fraterculus actually comprises an unresolved complex of cryptic species. - 2015 November 26, Mosè Manni et al., “Relevant...

      Synonyms: species complex species group species aggregate

      Hyponyms: species flock superspecies

  4. A group of emotionally charged ideas or mental factors, unconsciously associated by the individual with a particular subject, arising from repressed instincts, fears, or desires and often resulting in mental abnormality.
    • Jim has a real complex about working for a woman boss.

    Synonyms: constellation

    1. A fixed mental tendency or obsession.

      Synonyms: constellation

  5. A structure consisting of a central atom or molecule weakly connected to surrounding atoms or molecules, as for example coordination compounds in inorganic chemistry and protein complexes in biochemistry.
    • Oxygen levels on Earth skyrocketed 2.4 billion years ago, when cyanobacteria evolved photosynthesis:[…]. The evolutionary precursor of photosynthesis is still under debate, and a new study sheds light. The critical...
  6. A complex number.
    • The interesting aspect here is that U₃ is irreducible, even though all irreps over the complexes are one-dimensional because ℤ₄ is abelian. - 1996, Barry Simon, Representations of Finite and Compact Groups, page 50:
  7. A multimorphemic word, one with several parts, one with affixes.

Forms

complexes complices

Derived

activated complex AIDS-related complex anaphase-promoting complex animal–industrial complex antenna complex apartment complex Atlas complex biocomplex bithorax complex Bötzinger complex Cassandra complex chain complex chelate complex Christ complex Cinderella complex cineplex coalplex cochain complex complement membrane attack complex complexability complexation complexometric complexometry complexone

Verb

  1. To form a complex with another substance.
  2. To complicate.

Forms

complexes complexing complexed