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complex
[ adjective verb kuhm-pleks, kom-pleks; noun kom-pleks ]
adjective
- composed of many interconnected parts; compound; composite:
a complex highway system.
- characterized by a very complicated or involved arrangement of parts, units, etc.:
complex machinery.
Antonyms: simple
- so complicated or intricate as to be hard to understand or deal with:
a complex problem.
Synonyms: labyrinthine, tangled, knotty
Antonyms: simple
- Grammar.
- (of a word) consisting of two parts, at least one of which is a bound form, as childish, which consists of the word child and the bound form -ish.
- Mathematics. pertaining to or using complex numbers:
complex methods; complex vector space.
noun
- an intricate or complicated association or assemblage of related things, parts, units, etc.:
the entire complex of our educational system; an apartment complex.
- Psychology. a system of interrelated, emotion-charged ideas, feelings, memories, and impulses that is usually repressed and that gives rise to abnormal or pathological behavior.
- a fixed idea; an obsessive notion.
- Mathematics.
- an arbitrary set of elements of a group.
- a collection of simplexes having specified properties.
- Also called coordination compound. Chemistry. a compound in which independently existing molecules or ions of a nonmetal complexing agent form coordinate bonds with a metal atom or ion. Compare ligand ( def 2 ).
- Biochemistry. an entity composed of molecules in which the constituents maintain much of their chemical identity:
receptor-hormone complex, enzyme-substrate complex.
verb (used with object)
- Chemistry. to form a complex with.
verb (used without object)
- Chemistry. to form a complex.
complex
/ ˈkɒmplɛks /
adjective
- made up of various interconnected parts; composite
- (of thoughts, writing, etc) intricate or involved
- grammar
- (of a word) containing at least one bound form
- (of a noun phrase) containing both a lexical noun and an embedded clause, as for example the italicized parts of the following sentence: I didn't know the man who served me
- (of a sentence) formed by subordination of one clause to another
- maths of or involving one or more complex numbers
noun
- a whole made up of interconnected or related parts
a building complex
- psychoanal a group of emotional ideas or impulses that have been banished from the conscious mind but that continue to influence a person's behaviour
- informal.an obsession or excessive fear
he's got a complex about cats
- Also calledcoordination compound a chemical compound in which molecules, groups, or ions are attached to a central metal atom, esp a transition metal atom, by coordinate bonds
- any chemical compound in which one molecule is linked to another by a coordinate bond
Usage
Derived Forms
- ˈcomplexly, adverb
- ˈcomplexness, noun
Other Words From
- com·plexly adverb
- com·plexness noun
- over·com·plex adjective
- quasi-com·plex adjective
- quasi-com·plexly adverb
- super·com·plex adjective
- uncom·plex adjective
- uncom·plexly adverb
- uncom·plexness noun
Word History and Origins
Origin of complex1
Word History and Origins
Origin of complex1
Example Sentences
Officials told The Times that the Santa Ynez Reservoir had been closed for repairs to its cover, leaving a 117 million gallon water storage complex empty in the heart of the Palisades.
While nearby buildings were reduced to ash, developer Rick Caruso, who owns the Palisades Village retail-restaurant-residential complex that includes the movie theater, confirmed in an email to The Times on Thursday, “The theater is fine.”
Managing a team in transition poses complex challenges requiring patience, empathy, and clear vision.
An apartment complex where Collison and her husband had lived years earlier was engulfed in flames.
Other families see the agreements as a path towards convictions in the complex and long-running proceedings and were disappointed by the government's latest intervention.
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