Adjacent Words

Complex definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

COMPLEX,
COMPLEXED, a.
1. Composed of two or more parts or things; composite; not simple; including two or more particulars connected; as a complex being; a complex idea; a complex term.
Ideas made up of several simple ones, I call complex; such as beauty, gratitude, a man, the universe.
2. Involved; difficult; as a complex subject.
COMPLEX, n. Assemblage; collection; complication.
This parable of the wedding supper comprehends in it the whole complex of all the blessings and privileges of the gospel.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: complicated in structure; consisting of interconnected parts; "a complex set of variations based on a simple folk melody"; "a complex mass of diverse laws and customs" [ant: simple] n
1: a conceptual whole made up of complicated and related parts; "the complex of shopping malls, houses, and roads created a new town" [syn: complex, composite]
2: a compound described in terms of the central atom to which other atoms are bound or coordinated [syn: complex, coordination compound]
3: (psychoanalysis) a combination of emotions and impulses that have been rejected from awareness but still influence a person's behavior
4: a whole structure (as a building) made up of interconnected or related structures [syn: building complex, complex]

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Late Latin complexus totality, from Latin, embrace, from complecti Date: 1643 1. a whole made up of complicated or interrelated parts <a complex of welfare programs> <the military-industrial complex> 2. a. a group of culture traits relating to a single activity (as hunting), process (as use of flint), or culture unit b. (1) a group of repressed desires and memories that exerts a dominating influence upon the personality (2) an exaggerated reaction to or preoccupation with a subject or situation c. a group of obviously related units of which the degree and nature of the relationship is imperfectly known d. the sum of factors (as symptoms) characterizing a disease or condition 3. a chemical association of two or more species (as ions or molecules) joined usually by weak electrostatic bonds rather than covalent bonds 4. a building or group of buildings housing related units <an apartment complex> <a sports complex> II. adjective Etymology: Latin complexus, past participle of complecti to embrace, comprise (a multitude of objects), from com- + plectere to braid — more at ply Date: 1645 1. a. composed of two or more parts ; composite b. (1) of a word having a bound form as one or more of its immediate constituents <unmanly is a complex word> (2) of a sentence consisting of a main clause and one or more subordinate clauses 2. hard to separate, analyze, or solve 3. of, concerned with, being, or containing complex numbers <a complex root> <complex analysis> • complexly adverb • complexness noun Synonyms: complex, complicated, intricate, involved, knotty mean having confusingly interrelated parts. complex suggests the unavoidable result of a necessary combining and does not imply a fault or failure <a complex recipe>. complicated applies to what offers great difficulty in understanding, solving, or explaining <complicated legal procedures>. intricate suggests such interlacing of parts as to make it nearly impossible to follow or grasp them separately <an intricate web of deceit>. involved implies extreme complication and often disorder <a rambling, involved explanation>. knotty suggests complication and entanglement that make solution or understanding improbable <knotty ethical questions>. III. transitive verb Date: 1658 1. to make complex or into a complex 2. chelate • complexation noun

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & adj. --n. 1 a building, a series of rooms, a network, etc. made up of related parts (the arts complex). 2 Psychol. a related group of usu. repressed feelings or thoughts which cause abnormal behaviour or mental states (see inferiority complex (see OEDIPUS COMPLEX)). 3 (in general use) a preoccupation or obsession (has a complex about punctuality). 4 Chem. a compound in which molecules or ions form coordinate bonds to a metal atom or ion. --adj. 1 consisting of related parts; composite. 2 complicated (a complex problem). 3 Math. containing real and imaginary parts (cf. IMAGINARY). Phrases and idioms: complex sentence a sentence containing a subordinate clause or clauses. Derivatives: complexity n. (pl. -ies). complexly adv. Etymology: F complexe or L complexus past part. of complectere embrace, assoc. with complexus plaited

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Complex Com"plex, a. [L. complexus, p. p. of complecti to entwine around, comprise; com- + plectere to twist, akin to plicare to fold. See Plait, n.] 1. Composed of two or more parts; composite; not simple; as, a complex being; a complex idea. Ideas thus made up of several simple ones put together, I call complex; such as beauty, gratitude, a man, an army, the universe. --Locke. 2. Involving many parts; complicated; intricate. When the actual motions of the heavens are calculated in the best possible way, the process is difficult and complex. --Whewell. Complex fraction. See Fraction. Complex number (Math.), in the theory of numbers, an expression of the form a + b[root]-1, when a and b are ordinary integers. Syn: See Intricate.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Complex Com"plex, n. [L. complexus] Assemblage of related things; collection; complication. This parable of the wedding supper comprehends in it the whole complex of all the blessings and privileges exhibited by the gospel. --South. Complex of lines (Geom.), all the possible straight lines in space being considered, the entire system of lines which satisfy a single relation constitute a complex; as, all the lines which meet a given curve make up a complex. The lines which satisfy two relations constitute a congruency of lines; as, the entire system of lines, each one of which meets two given surfaces, is a congruency.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(complexes) Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English. 1. Something that is complex has many different parts, and is therefore often difficult to understand. ...in-depth coverage of today's complex issues. ...a complex system of voting. ...her complex personality. ...complex machines. = complicated ? simple ADJ 2. In grammar, a complex sentence contains one or more subordinate clauses as well as a main clause. Compare compound. ADJ: ADJ n 3. A complex is a group of buildings designed for a particular purpose, or one large building divided into several smaller areas. ...plans for constructing a new stadium and leisure complex. ...a complex of offices and flats. N-COUNT: usu with supp 4. If someone has a complex about something, they have a mental or emotional problem relating to it, often because of an unpleasant experience in the past. I have never had a complex about my height. ...a deranged attacker, driven by a persecution complex. N-COUNT see also guilt complex, inferiority complex

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. a. 1. Compounded, compound, composite, mixed, mingled, manifold, composed of several elements. 2. Complicated, complicate, tangled, entangled, intricate, involved. II. n. Network, complexus, complication, tangle, tangled skein, compages, compage, intricate web, web, webwork.

Moby Thesaurus

Byzantine, Chinese puzzle, Diana complex, Electra complex, Gordian knot, Herculean, Oedipus complex, Rube Goldberg contraption, abstruse, acculturation, amalgamated, ambiguous, ambivalent, amphibious, arduous, baffling, balled up, bewildering, beyond one, blended, brutal, can of worms, castration complex, civilization, collectivity, combined, complicated, composite, compound, compounded, compulsion, confounded, confounding, confused, confusing, conglomerate, convoluted, crabbed, cramp, critical, cultural drift, culture, culture area, culture center, culture complex, culture conflict, culture contact, culture pattern, culture trait, daedal, dappled, delicate, demanding, devious, difficile, difficult, distracting, disturbing, eclectic, elaborate, embodiment, embrangled, entangled, entirety, equivocal, ethos, exacting, fascination, father complex, fifty-fifty, fixation, fixed idea, folkways, formidable, fouled up, garbled, gordian, hairy, half-and-half, hang-up, hard, hard to understand, hard-earned, hard-fought, heterogeneous, hypercathexis, idee fixe, implicated, indiscriminate, inferiority complex, integer, integration, integrity, intricate, involute, involuted, involved, ironic, irresistible impulse, jawbreaking, jumbled, jungle, key trait, knot, knotted, knotty, laborious, labyrinth, labyrinthian, labyrinthine, loused up, many-faceted, many-sided, matted, maze, mazy, mean, meander, meandering, medley, mesh, mess, messed up, mingled, miscellaneous, mixed, mixed up, mixed-up, monomania, morbid drive, mores, mother complex, motley, mucked up, multifaceted, multifarious, multinational, multiracial, mysterious, mystifying, no picnic, not easy, obfuscated, obscure, obscured, obsession, obsessive compulsion, oneness, operose, organic unity, overtechnical, parent complex, patchy, perplex, perplexed, perplexing, persecution complex, pluralistic, possession, preoccupation, prepossession, promiscuous, puzzling, ramified, ravel, reticular, rigorous, rough, roundabout, rugged, ruling passion, scrambled, screwed up, set with thorns, severe, snafu, snake pit, snarl, snarled, society, sophisticated, spiny, steep, strenuous, subtle, superiority complex, syncretic, tangle, tangled, tangled skein, tangly, thorny, thrown together, tic, ticklish, toilsome, totality, tough, trait, trait-complex, tricky, twisted, unity, uphill, vague, varied, webwork, wheels within wheels, whole, wicked, wilderness