| Main Entry: | complicate |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | confuse, make difficult |
Synonyms: |
add fuel to fire, bedevil, clog, combine, confound, convolute, derange, disarrange, disorder, elaborate, embroil, entangle, fold, foul up, handicap, impede, infold, interfuse, interrelate, interweave, involve, jumble, make intricate, make waves, mix up, muck up, muddle, multiply, obscure, open can of worms, perplex, ravel, render unintelligible, screw up, snafu, snag, snarl up, tangle, twist, upset |
Antonyms: |
disentangle, ease, explain, facilitate, make simple, untangle |
| Main Entry: | complicated |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | difficult, complex |
Synonyms: |
Byzantine, Daedalean, Gordian, abstruse, arduous, can of worms, convoluted, difficult, elaborate, entangled, fancy, gasser, hard, hi-tech, interlaced, intricate, involved, knotty, labyrinthine, mega factor, mixed, perplexing, problematic, puzzling, recondite, sophisticated, troublesome, various, wheels within wheels |
| Notes: | something complex may be well-organized and logically constructed as well as subtle and intricate, while a thing that is complicated will have something irregular, perverse, asymmetrical in addition to fundamental intricacy; complex is more formal and technical (a problem in mathematics is complex) while something like personal life can be complicated |
Antonyms: |
easy, facile, simple |
| Main Entry: | abstruse |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | difficult to understand |
Synonyms: |
Greek to me, abstract, clear as dishwater, complex, complicated, deep, enigmatic, esoteric, heavy*, hidden, incomprehensible, intricate, involved, muddy, obscure, perplexing, profound, puzzling, recondite, subtle, unfathomable, vague |
Antonyms: |
clear, concrete, easy, lucid, obvious, plain, simple |
| Main Entry: | aggravate |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | cause to become worse |
Synonyms: |
complicate, deepen, enhance, exacerbate, exaggerate, heighten, increase, inflame, intensify, magnify, mount, rise, rouse, worsen |
| Notes: | to aggravate is to make something worse, while to exacerbate is to increase something's bitterness or harshness aggravate means 'to add to' an already troublesome or vexing matter or condition while irritate means 'to vex, annoy, or chafe' irritate means 'inflame' (originally 'excite, rouse'); aggravate means 'worsen' |
Antonyms: |
alleviate, help, improve, relieve, soothe |
| Main Entry: | circuitous |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | going around, indirect |
Synonyms: |
ambagious, back road, by way of, circular, collateral, complicated, devious, labyrinthine, long way, long way around, meandering, oblique, rambling, roundabout, tortuous, winding around |
Antonyms: |
direct, in line, straight |
| Main Entry: | complex |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | involved, intricate |
Synonyms: |
circuitous, complicated, composite, compound, compounded, confused, conglomerate, convoluted, elaborate, entangled, heterogeneous, knotty, labyrinthine, manifold, mingled, miscellaneous, mixed, mixed-up, mosaic, motley, multifarious, multiform, multiple, multiplex, tangled, tortuous, variegated |
Antonyms: |
clear, easy, evident, homogeneous, obvious, plain, simple, uniform |
| Main Entry: | complex |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | difficult to understand |
Synonyms: |
Byzantine, Daedalean, Gordian, abstruse, bewildering, circuitous, complicated, confused, convoluted, crabbed, cryptic, discursive, disordered, disturbing, enigmatic, entangled, excursive, hidden, impenetrable, inscrutable, interwoven, intricate, involved, jumbled, knotted, knotty, labyrinthine, mazy, meandering, mingled, mixed, muddled, obscure, paradoxical, perplexing, puzzling, rambling, recondite, round-about, sinuous, snarled, sophisticated, tangled, tortuous, undecipherable, unfathomable, winding |
Antonyms: |
apparent, clear, direct, discernible, easy, evident, obvious, plain |
| Main Entry: | confuse |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | bewilder someone |
Synonyms: |
abash, addle, amaze, astonish, baffle, becloud, bedevil, befuddle, bemuse, cloud, clutter, complicate, confound, darken, daze, demoralize, discomfit, discompose, disconcert, discountenance, disorient, distract, embarrass, faze, fluster, fog, frustrate, fuddle, involve, lead astray, mess up*, misinform, mislead, mortify, muddle, mystify, nonplus, obscure, perplex, perturb, puzzle, rattle, render uncertain, shame, stir up, stump, throw off, throw off balance, trouble, unhinge, unsettle, upset, worry |
Antonyms: |
clarify, clear up, enlighten, explain |
| Main Entry: | dark |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | hidden, secret |
Synonyms: |
Delphian, abstruse, anagogic, arcane, cabalistic, complicated, concealed, cryptic, deep, enigmatic, esoteric, intricate, knotty, mysterious, mystic, mystical, mystifying, not known, obscure, occult, puzzling, recondite |
Antonyms: |
apparent, distinct, evident, manifest, plain, visible |
| Main Entry: | detailed |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | itemized, particularized |
Synonyms: |
abundant, accurate, all-inclusive, amplified, at length, blow-by-blow, circumstantial, circumstantiated, clocklike, complete, complicated, comprehensive, copious, definite, described, developed, disclosed, elaborate, elaborated, enumerated, exact, exhausting, exhaustive, finicky*, full, fussy*, individual, individualized, intricate, meticulous, minute, narrow, nice, point-by-point, precise, seriatim, specific, specified, thorough, unfolded |
Antonyms: |
brief, cursory, inexhaustive, nonspecific, sparing, uncomplicated, undetailed |