noun
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the state or quality of being intricate or complex
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something intricate or complex; complication
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of complexity
Explanation
Is the movie simple or does it have lots of plot twists and intricate relationships between characters? If the latter is true, the movie's complexity makes it hard to understand. When you see the word complexity, think of something with a lot of pieces, something not easy to put into words or understand. Things that can have complexity include: the events leading up to the American Civil War, a broth made with many ingredients, your relationship with your parents. Complexity is the opposite of simplicity. When something has a lot of complexity, you say it is complex. When it has very little complexity, it is simple.
Vocabulary lists containing complexity
List 2
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Per the act, the FDA was ordered by Congress to establish traceability standards for high-risk foods, but the food industry pushed back, asking for additional time to comply with recordkeeping and coordination demands, citing complexity.
From Slate ● Jul. 22, 2026
That lack of adaptability increases the complexity of optical communication hardware and data center infrastructure.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 22, 2026
“You have this explosion in complexity, and yet trade must move,” said Smith, who is also the company’s co-founder.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
But still, the complexity of the system means the time taken for UK nationals to get through the border has risen from seven minutes to 20 minutes.
From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2026
Intensified food production and societal complexity stimulate each other, by autocatalysis.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
For his part, Connor always feared that the show’s “rose-tinted” approach, though part of the story’s appeal, “would not be nuanced enough to talk about the complexities of being human and being young.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026
In the center, Porter’s youngest daughter, Elizabeth, looks distractedly to one side, unaware of the unspoken interpersonal complexities around her.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026
To understand the complexities of today's leasehold system, described by many, including Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook, as "feudal", we have to go back almost 1,000 years.
From BBC ● Jul. 7, 2026
Monness, Crespi, Hardt & Co. analyst Brian White wrote in a recent note that Datadog has positioned itself well to benefit from the growing IT complexities that come with generative AI.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 6, 2026
Harold Rheinbeck was sixty-nine, gray haired, a longtime boxing fan, and an enthusiastic recreational hunter, but he was a sensitive man, too, and well aware of the intricate emotional complexities of the case.
From "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.