1. Complicated in structure; consisting of interconnected parts
   "a complex set of variations based on a simple folk melody"; "a complex mass of diverse laws and customs"
    
2. Difficult to analyse or understand
   "he's more complex than he seems on the surface";
   - complicated
    
3. (mathematics) having values of the form a + bi, where a and b are real numbers and i is the square root of -1; not purely real
   "The equation resulted in a complex number solution"

1. A conceptual whole made up of complicated and related parts
   "the complex of shopping malls, houses, and roads created a new town";
   - composite
    
2. A whole structure (as a building) made up of interconnected or related structures
   "The university's new science building complex housed multiple research laboratories";
   - building complex
    
3. (psychoanalysis) a combination of emotions and impulses that have been rejected from awareness but still influence a person's behaviour
   "Her father complex affected her relationships with older men"
    
4. A compound described in terms of the central atom to which other atoms are bound or coordinated
   "Hemoglobin is an example of a complex containing iron";
   - coordination compound

1. (chemistry) form a complex with another substance
   "The metal ions complex with the organic ligands in solution"

Derived forms: complexing, complexes, complexed

See also: analysable [Brit, Cdn], analyzable [N. Amer], Byzantine, colonial, complexity, complexness, composite, compound, convoluted, daedal, decomposable, difficult, Gordian, hard, interlacing, interlinking, interlocking, interwoven, intricate, involved, knotty, labyrinthian, labyrinthine, mazy, multifactorial, multiplex, tangled, thickening, tortuous

Type of: chemical compound, compound, construction, feeling, structure, whole

Antonym: simple

Encyclopedia: Complex