complicates

VERB

confuse, make difficult

Synonyms

STRONGEST

convolute impede involve muddle obscure perplex upset

STRONG

bedevil clog combine confound derange disarrange disorder elaborate embroil entangle fold interrelate interweave jumble multiply ravel snafu snag tangle twist

WEAK

add fuel to fire foul up infold interfuse make intricate make waves mix up muck up open can of worms render unintelligible screw up snarl up

Antonyms

STRONGEST

clear up enlighten explain order

STRONG

arrange clarify divide exclude free straighten uncomplicate untangle untwist

WEAK

disentangle ease facilitate make simple

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:

complicates

Remote and difficult terrain complicates fieldwork, while the seasonal appearance and often hidden nature of fungal reproductive structures make some species especially difficult to locate.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 26, 2026

Climate change complicates the picture because the oceans are now warmer, but scientists can strip out that background effect to determine the absolute rise.

From Barron's ● Oct. 13, 2026

While this may all sound a bit reactionary or like shooting fish in a barrel, Mungiu wisely complicates matters.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026

Here’s what complicates the monster story, and what Hollywood has failed to illustrate in this movie: I also found a young man failed by nearly every system around him.

From Salon ● Oct. 4, 2026

But Bacon then complicates matters by using the adjective experimentalis to cover all knowledge grounded in experience; and he has no verb for ‘to experiment’ other than experiri.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

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