transitive verb

• 1Make (something) more difficult or confusing by causing it to be more complex.

  ‘middlemen can complicate the process’

  More example sentences

  • ‘There are a number of factors which complicate choices about smallpox either for governments or for individuals.’
  • ‘The first factor complicating the fight against doping, he said, is the imperfect art of testing.’
  • ‘One of the factors complicating the adjustment of the Hmong people has been English language acquisition.’
  • ‘Proper land ownership documentation is another matter that is complicating the struggle.’
  • ‘Additionally, the ability to detect this signature at a genomic level in the human lineage is complicated by other factors.’
  • ‘Local factors complicated identities and made remoteness from the centre an unreliable guide to political complexion.’
  • ‘Other factors can also complicate the interpretation of estimates of percentage change.’
  • ‘There are wide-ranging social and economic factors which complicate things.’
  • ‘As I can see it, there are two factors that start to complicate the game, somewhat affecting its gameplay.’
  • ‘Further complicating matters are factors such as range-wide variability in habitat conditions that can affect survival.’
  • ‘Today the situation is complicated by the fact that there's just so much out there.’
  • ‘The constant shift in mental posture greatly complicates things for the average soldier.’
  • ‘The relationship is complicated by the presence of heterochromatin.’
  • ‘Expecting your sons to exchange properties is unnecessarily complicating the issue.’
  • ‘Trends in the number of patients colonised on admission may also complicate interpretation of outcomes.’
  • ‘Any potential sale has been complicated by the presence of bats, a protected species.’
  • ‘The assessment of quality of life in adolescents with asthma was complicated by several factors.’
  • ‘Why should my job be unnecessarily complicated by students with problems I can't solve?’
  • ‘Sometimes I feel we try to complicate what's actually very simple.’
  • ‘He needs a friend, not a girlfriend who will just complicate what's really important.’

  Synonyms

  make difficult, make more difficult, make complex, make complicated, mix up

  View synonyms

  1. 1.1Medicine Introduce complications in (an existing condition)
     ‘smoking may complicate pregnancy’
     More example sentences

     • ‘Pregnancy is not an absolute contraindication to travel unless complicated by an unstable medical condition or impending labor.’
     • ‘Respiratory failure frequently complicates the condition of children who have sustained traumatic injury.’
     • ‘Women with preterm delivery and pregnancies complicated by hemoglobinopathies, hypertension, or multiple gestation were excluded.’
     • ‘More frequent visits will be necessary for patients with stage 2 hypertension or with complicating comorbid conditions.’
     • ‘Stroke may be complicated by several conditions that can alter outcome adversely.’