Synonyms for complex
- adjective
- noun
Most common
Synonyms by meaning
Adjective
1. Complicated — not simple, easy, or straightforward; complicated
complicated, intricate, involved, convoluted, labyrinthine, difficult, tangled, knotty, byzantine, problematic, detailed, deep, abstruse formal, entangled, tough, obscure, hard, confused, mazy, complicate formal rare, labyrinthian rare
Other
many-sided, heterogeneous, multifarious, mixed, conglomerate, manifold, compounded, involute, gordian, daedal rare UK, dedal US
Noun
1. Species group — an assemblage of related things; a collection. A group of closely related species, often distinguished only…
2. Compound
Other
Definitions
- adj. 1
Not simple, easy, or straightforward; complicated.
- n. 1
An assemblage of related things; a collection. A group of closely related species, often distinguished only with difficulty by traditional morphological methods.
- n. 2
A network of interconnected systems.
military–industrial complex
Related words
Forms
- Plural
- complexes → compounds, composites, systems, constellations…
Choose the right word
That is complex which is made up of several connected parts. In a composite object the different parts have less of unity than in that which is complex or compound, but maintain their distinct individuality.
J. C. Fernald, English Synonyms and Antonyms (1914)
Example sentences
- involved They did not want to get involved in the fighting.
- complicated The problem's a little more complicated than that.
- intricate I can see some intricate patterns in the picture.
- convoluted The plot's so convoluted, I have no idea what's going on.
- heterogeneous It's a heterogeneous group, not a homogeneous one.
Popularity over time
| Word | 1850 → 2019 | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| complex | steady | |
| involved | steady | |
| complicated | steady | |
| intricate | steady | |
| convoluted | rising |
Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.
By length
- 4 letters
- hard1, deep1, mazy
- 5 letters
- tough1, mixed1, dedal
- 6 letters
- system2, knotty2, daedal
- 7 letters
- obscure2, tangled2, gordian3
- 8 letters
- involved2, detailed2, confused2, compound2, manifold3, abstruse2, involute
- 9 letters
- difficult3, composite3, intricate3, byzantine3, entangled3
- 10 letters
- compounded3, complicate3, convoluted4
- 11 letters
- complicated4, problematic4
- 12 letters
- conglomerate4, labyrinthine4, multifarious, labyrinthian
- 13 letters
- constellation4, heterogeneous5
The small number after each word is its number of syllables (system2 = 2 syllables).