complicate

complicate — verb

1. to add extra difficulty or confusion to a situation or task, so that it becomes

1.verbtransitiveC1
Definition

to add extra difficulty or confusion to a situation or task, so that it becomes harder to handle, manage, or understand than it was before.

Example

The sudden rain complicated our plans for the outdoor wedding reception.

collocation: complicate plans

Beatriz's refusal to sign the papers complicated the legal process for the whole family.

collocation: complicate the process

Common collocations
  • complicate matters
  • complicate things
  • complicate the situation
  • complicate the process
  • complicate life
Synonyms
  • confuse

    focuses on making something unclear to the mind rather than harder to do

  • entangle

    suggests being caught in a web of difficulties, often involving people

  • muddy

    informal, used especially for making an issue or argument less clear

Antonyms
  • simplify

    to make something easier or less complex

Grammar Patterns

complicate + noun phrase

Usage Note

Commonly used with nouns such as 'matters', 'things', 'situation', 'process', and 'issue' to describe how something becomes harder to resolve.

Common Mistakes

This problem is very complicate.
This problem is very complicated.
'complicate' is a verb; the adjective form is 'complicated'.

2. when a medical condition adds further severity or difficulty to an existing illn

2.verbtransitiveC1
Definition

when a medical condition adds further severity or difficulty to an existing illness, making it harder to treat or for the patient to recover.

Example

The patient's diabetes was complicated by a serious lung infection that required strong antibiotics.

passive: complicated by [illness or condition]

Dr. Okafor warned that the high fever could complicate the child's recovery from the surgery.

collocation: complicate recovery

Common collocations
  • complicate recovery
  • complicate treatment
  • complicate the condition
  • complicate a case
Synonyms
  • aggravate

    focuses on making symptoms worse without necessarily adding new problems

  • worsen

    general term for making a condition more severe

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

complicate + noun phrase (illness / condition / recovery)

Usage Note

Frequently used in the passive form (e.g., 'was complicated by') when one condition adds difficulty to an existing one. The subject is usually a disease, infection, or symptom.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

All four words describe making something harder to deal with, but they focus on different kinds of difficulty. 'Complicate' is the broadest term: it means adding extra elements or problems that make a task, situation, or issue more challenging to manage (e.g., 'The new regulations complicate the approval process.'). 'Confuse' targets mental clarity — it means making someone unable to understand or think clearly (e.g., 'The conflicting instructions confused the volunteers.'). 'Entangle' suggests being caught or trapped in a web of difficulties, often involving people or obligations (e.g., 'He became entangled in a series of legal disputes.'). 'Muddy' is informal and used for making an argument, issue, or explanation less clear or more ambiguous (e.g., 'The new evidence only muddied the case further.'). Choose 'complicate' when the focus is on added difficulty; choose 'confuse' when the focus is on the mind; choose 'entangle' for being stuck in problems; and choose 'muddy' for making something unclear in an argument or discussion.

complicate ↗confuse ↗entanglemuddy ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • matters
  • things
  • the situation
  • the process
  • life
  • relations
  • negotiations

Adverbs

  • greatly complicate
  • further complicate
  • unnecessarily complicate
  • seriously complicate
  • needlessly complicate

Phrases

  • complicate matters further
  • complicate things even more

Prepositions

  • complicate by (passive: complicated by)

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

The word 'complicate' entered English in the 1600s from Latin 'complicare', meaning 'to fold together'. The prefix 'com-' means 'together', and 'plicare' means 'to fold or pleat'. Something that is complicated is like a piece of cloth that has been folded many times — the folds are hard to separate and make the structure difficult to see clearly. The original literal sense of 'folding together' gradually shifted to the modern figurative meaning of 'making something intricate or difficult'.