compound-complex sentence

[ kom-pound-kom-pleks ]

noun

1. a sentence having two or more coordinate independent clauses and one or more dependent clauses, as The lightning flashed (independent clause) and the rain fell (independent clause) as he entered the house (dependent clause).

compound-complex sentence

1. A sentence that contains at least two independent clauses and at least one dependent clause : “Queen Elizabeth I was called a redhead (independent clause), but no one knew her hair color for sure (independent clause) because she always wore a wig (dependent clause).” “Because she always wore a wig” is a dependent clause starting with the subordinating conjunction (see subordination ) because . ( Compare complex sentence , compound sentence , and simple sentence .)

Word History and Origins

Origin of compound-complex sentence¹

First recorded in 1920–25

Example Sentences

“One yearns for a subordinate clause, a compound-complex sentence being too much to hope for,” he observed.

From Washington Post

By using or refraining from using these elements, we wrote simple sentences or compound sentences or compound-complex sentences.

From The Guardian