complicate

English

Etymology

    First attested in the early 17th century; borrowed from Latin complicātus, perfect passive participle of complicō (“to fold together, fold up”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), from con- (“with, together with, in the company of, in connection with, along with, together, and”) +‎ plicō (“to fold, wind, coil”); see plaid, and compare complex. See also Middle English complicate (“involved”).

    Pronunciation

    Verb
    • (General American) IPA(key): /ˈkɑmplɪkeɪt/
    • (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈkɒmplɪkeɪt/
    • Audio (Southern England):(file)
    • Hyphenation: com‧pli‧cate
    Adjective

    Verb

    complicate (third-person singular simple present complicates, present participle complicating, simple past and past participle complicated)

    1. (transitive) To make complex; to modify so as to make something intricate or difficult.
      • 1896, Arthur Edward Waite, “Chapter 14”, in Devil-Worship in France, or the Question of Lucifer:
        Let us, however, put aside for the moment the mendacities and forgeries which complicate the question of Lucifer, and let us approach Palladism from an altogether different side.
    3. (transitive) To involve in a convoluted matter.
      Synonyms: intricate, entangle, embroil, involve, mix up (in something), mire
      Don't complicate yourself in issues that are beyond the scope of your understanding.
      John has been complicated in the affair by new tapes that surfaced.
      The DA has made every effort to complicate me in the scandal.
    4. (medicine, transitive) To coexist with (another disease) creating a complication.
      • 1909, William Heiskell Deaderick, A Practical Study of Malaria, page 232:
        Masked or larvate malaria, like pernicious malaria, needs complete overhauling. Nearly every disease in the category has been confounded with malaria and classed as larvate. This heterogeneous group has been expanded to embrace diseases unrelated to malaria, diseases complicating malaria, and symptoms and sequelæ of malaria.

    Derived terms

    Translations

    See also

    Adjective

    complicate (comparative more complicate, superlative most complicate)

    1. (obsolete) Intertwined.
    2. (now rare, poetic) Complex, complicated.

    Derived terms

    Further reading

    Interlingua

    Pronunciation

    • IPA(key): /kom.pliˈka.te/
    • Rhymes: -ate
    • Hyphenation: com‧pli‧ca‧te

    Verb

    complicate

    1. past participle of complicar

    Adjective

    complicate (comparative plus complicate, superlative le plus complicate)

    1. complicated
      morbo complicate ― disease with complications (literally, “disease complicated”)

    Further reading

    • Alexander Gode (1951), Interlingua-English: A Dictionary of the International Language, New York: Storm Publishers, →OL

    Italian

    Pronunciation

    • IPA(key): /kom.pliˈka.te/
    • Rhymes: -ate
    • Hyphenation: com‧pli‧cà‧te

    Adjective

    complicate

    1. feminine plural of complicato

    Participle

    complicate

    1. feminine plural of complicato

    Verb

    complicate

    1. inflection of complicare:
      1. second-person plural present indicative
      2. second-person plural imperative

    Latin

    Pronunciation

    Verb

    complicāte

    1. second-person plural present active imperative of complicō

    Participle

    complicāte

    1. vocative masculine singular of complicātus

    Middle English

    Etymology

      Learned borrowing from Latin complicātus, from complicō.

      Participle

      complicate

      1. (The addition of quotations indicative of this usage is being sought:) involved

      Further reading

      Spanish

      Pronunciation

      • IPA(key): /kompliˈkate/ [kõm.pliˈka.t̪e]
      • Rhymes: -ate
      • Syllabification: com‧pli‧ca‧te

      Verb

      complicate

      1. second-person singular voseo imperative of complicar combined with te
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