Definition of: complex

(kəm·pleks′, kom′pleks) adjective
1. Consisting of various parts or elements; composite.
2. Complicated; involved; intricate.
—noun (kom′·pleks)
1. Something composite or complicated; a complication; collection.
2. Psychoanal. A group or cluster of interrelated and usually repressed ideas with strong emotional content which compels the individual to adopt abnormal patterns of thought and behavior. [<L complexus, pp. of complectere <com- together + plectere twist]
—com.plex′ly adverb
—com·plex′ness noun Synonyms (adj.): abstruse, complicated, composite, compound, confused, conglomerate, entangled, heterogeneous, intricate, involved, manifold, mingled, mixed, multiform, tangled. That is complex which is made up of a number of connected parts. That is compound in which the parts are not merely connected, but combined into a single substance. In a composite object the different parts have less of unity than in that which is complex or compound, and maintain their distinct individuality. In a heterogeneous body, mass, or collection, unlike parts or particles are intermingled, often without apparent order or plan. Conglomerate (literally, globed together) is said of a confused mingling of masses or lumps of various substances. Things are involved which are rolled together so as not to be easily separated, either in thought or in fact; threads which are tangled or entangled hold and draw upon one another in a confusing and obstructive way; a knot is intricate when the strands are difficult to follow. An abstruse statement or conception is remote from the usual course of thought. Antonyms: clear, direct, homogeneous, obvious, plain, simple, uncombined, uncompounded, uniform, unraveled.