complicated

Complicated is an adjective used to describe something that is difficult to understand, explain, or deal with because it involves many parts, steps, or factors that interact in complex ways. It can refer to systems, processes, problems, relationships, or situations that resist straightforward solutions. In everyday usage, the term often carries a sense that causes are numerous or not readily apparent, rather than merely that something is hard.

The word comes from Latin complicatus, the past participle of complicare, from com- "together" and plicare "to fold". The figurative sense of things folded together, making them hard to separate, gave rise to the sense of being interwoven and hard to resolve.

In practice, "complicated" is frequently used to describe scenarios with multiple interdependent elements: a complicated legal contract, a complicated software system, a complicated family relationship. It is sometimes preferred over "complex" or "intricate" depending on nuance; "complex" tends to emphasize interrelated parts, while "intricate" stresses fine detail. "Simple" is the direct opposite.

As a verb, to complicate means to make something more difficult to understand or to add new obstacles. A complication is an unexpected difficulty or a secondary problem that worsens an existing situation, and in medicine, a complication refers to an adverse development during a disease or treatment.