compliqué

Compliqué is a French adjective meaning "complicated" or "intricate." It derives from the verb compliquer, which in turn comes from the Latin complicare, “to fold together” or “to entangle.” The masculine form is compliqué, the feminine compliquée; the plural forms are compliqués (masculine) and compliquées (feminine). In general use, it describes something that is difficult to understand, construct, or perform, and can carry a nuance of excessive or unnecessary complexity.

In everyday language, the word appears in phrases such as "la situation est compliquée" or "un problème compliqué." It signals a structure with many interdependent parts, unusual arrangements, or a process that resists straightforward execution. The tone can be neutral or critical, depending on whether the speaker aims to emphasize genuine difficulty or to criticize avoidable complexity.

In horology, compliqué (or the phrase "à complications") is a specialized sense. A montre compliquée is a watch that includes one or more complications beyond simple timekeeping. Common examples include the chronograph, calendar functions (date, day, month, moon phase), the minute repeater, and the tourbillon. In French, the noun complication is also used to refer to a watch feature, but the adjective compliqué describes the watch itself or its mechanism. This usage mirrors the broader sense of the term as a description of added technical complexity.