complication

[ kom-pli-key-shuhn ]

noun

1. the act of complicating.
2. a complicated complicated or involved state or condition.
3. a complex combination of elements or things.
4. something that introduces, usually unexpectedly, some difficulty, problem, change, etc.:

   Because of the complications involved in traveling during the strike, we decided to postpone our trip.

   Synonyms: obstacle, handicap, drawback

5. Pathology. a concurrent disease, accident, or adverse reaction that aggravates the original disease.
6. the act of forming a unified idea or impression from a number of sense data, memories, etc.

complication

/ ˌkɒmplɪˈkeɪʃən /

noun

1. a condition, event, etc, that is complex or confused
2. the act or process of complicating
3. a situation, event, or condition that complicates or frustrates

   her coming was a serious complication

4. a disease or disorder arising as a consequence of another disease

Other Words From

• compli·cative adjective
• precom·pli·cation noun
• recom·pli·cation noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of complication¹

1605–15; < Late Latin complicātīon- (stem of complicātiō ), equivalent to complicāt ( us ) ( complicate ) + -īon- -ion

Example Sentences

His lawyers say new evidence shows the child died of complications from pneumonia.

From BBC

It’s as if the director herself has run into an existential choice: to show women in the fullness of their complications, frustrated and abandoned?

From Los Angeles Times

Their plots are essentially straightforward — somebody wants to kill somebody, somebody else wants to stop them — but stuffed with complications and characters that can at times muddy specific goals and motivations.

From Los Angeles Times

Robinson, whose USC teams won four Rose Bowls in his two stints with the Trojans, died Monday in Baton Rouge, La., of complications from pneumonia, USC announced.

From Los Angeles Times

"There was a complication and she had stopped breathing in the first few minutes of surgery," she said in a statement.

From BBC

Related Words

• complexity
• confusion
• difficulty
• obstacle
• problem
• snag