Complicates

Complicates is the third-person singular present tense of the verb complicate. It means to make something more difficult, involved, or less straightforward. The term can apply to processes, situations, explanations, or decisions, among other things, by adding factors or uncertainties.

Etymology: Derived from Latin complicare (“to fold together”), from com- (“together”) and plicare (“to fold”). The sense “to make more difficult” developed in English from this origin.

Usage: Complicates is transitive and takes a direct object, as in “The policy complicates the compliance process.” It is common in formal, analytical, and policy-oriented writing, but is also used in everyday speech to describe added complexity.

Common collocations include complicates matters, complicates the issue, and complicates the schedule or workflow. It often signals the introduction of new constraints, steps, or uncertainties that hinder straightforward resolution.

Examples: “The addition of a new approval step complicates the workflow.” “A lack of interoperable data formats complicates data integration.” “The patient’s unusual symptoms complicate the diagnosis.” See also related terms such as complicate, complexity, and simplification.