complex

I

(New American Roget's College Thesaurus)

adj. intricate, manifold, complicated, involved, knotty. — n. tangle, knot, maze; informal, obsession, fixation; inferiority, persecution, Oedipus, etc. complex. See disorder, insanity, intellect.

II

(Roget's IV) modif.

1. [Composed of several parts]

Syn. composite, heterogeneous, compound, conglomerate, multiple, mingled, mixed, motley, mosaic, manifold, multifaceted, multiform, many-sided, many-faceted, complicated, elaborate, aggregate, involved, combined, compact, compounded, amalgamated, miscellaneous, multiplex, multifarious, variegated, interwoven, interlaced; see also mixed 1 .

Ant. simplified*, single, homogeneous.

2. [Difficult to understand]

Syn. complicated, involved, intricate, entangled, tangled, circuitous, convoluted, puzzling, mingled, muddled, jumbled, impenetrable, inscrutable, unfathomable, undecipherable, bewildering, perplexing, confused, difficult, obscure, abstruse, recondite, labyrinthine, enigmatic, hidden, knotted, knotty, meandering, winding, sinuous, tortuous, snarled, irreducible, rambling, paradoxical, excursive, Daedalian, Gordian, twisted, disordered, devious, Byzantine, cryptic, inextricable, mazy, roundabout, crabbed; see also confused 2 , difficult 2 , obscure 1 .

Ant. simple, understandable*, plain, apparent.

Syn.- complex refers to that which is made up of many elaborately interrelated or interconnected parts, so that much study or knowledge is needed to understand or operate it [ a complex mechanism ] ; complicated is applied to that which is highly complex and hence very difficult to analyze, solve, or understand [ a complicated problem ] ; intricate specifically suggests a perplexingly elaborate interweaving of parts that is difficult to follow [ an intricate maze ] ; involved , in this connection, is applied to situations, ideas, etc. whose parts are thought of as intertwining in complicated, often disordered, fashion [ an involved argument ] n.

1. [An obsession]

Syn. exaggerated reaction syndRome, phobia, mania, fixation, repressed emotions, repressed fears, repressed deSires, repressed hates, group of repressed associations, hang-up*; see also fear 2 , insanity 1 , neurosis , obsession .

Types of psychological complexes include: Cain, castration, Diana, Electra, Oedipus, superiority, inferiority, persecution.

2. [A composite]

Syn. system, network, conglomerate, syndRome, web, tangle, ecosystem, ecological complex, aggregation, association, group, entanglement, totality; see also collection 2 , confusion 2 , system 1 .

III

(Roget's 3 Superthesaurus) a.

complicated, intricate, difficult, knotty, convoluted, tangled, unfathomable, inscrutable, manifold, perplexing, Gordian, labyrinthine, undecipherable, cryptic, abstruse, involved.

ANT.: simple, easy, clear

IV

(Roget's Thesaurus II) I adjective 1. Consisting of two or more interconnected parts: composite, compound. See SIMPLE. 2. Difficult to understand because of intricacy: byzantine, complicated, convoluted, daedal, Daedalian, elaborate, intricate, involute, involved, knotty, labyrinthine, tangled. See SIMPLE. II noun 1. A usually large entity composed of interconnected parts: system. See PART. 2. A center of organization, supply, or activity: base1, headquarters, station. Military: installation. See PLACE. 3. An exaggerated concern: Informal: hang-up. See FEAR.