| 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 |
| 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: |
apparent, clear, direct, discernible, easy, evident, obvious, plain |
| Main Entry: | conflicting |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | contradictory |
Synonyms: |
adverse, antagonistic, antipathetic, at odds with, clashing, contrariant, contrary, disconsonant, discordant, discrepant, dissonant, incompatible, incongruent, incongruous, inconsistent, inconsonant, opposed, opposing, paradoxical, unfavorable, unmixable |
Antonyms: |
agreeable, harmonious, nonconflicting, peaceful |
| Main Entry: | contradictory |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | antagonistic |
Synonyms: |
adverse, against, agin, anti, antipodal, antipodean, antithetic, antithetical, con, conflicting, contrary, converse, counter, counteractive, diametric, discrepant, incompatible, incongruous, inconsistent, irreconcilable, negating, no go, nullifying, opposing, opposite, ornery*, paradoxical, polar, repugnant, reverse |
Antonyms: |
agreeing, confirming, consistent, reconcilable, reconciled, vouching |
| Main Entry: | contrary |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | antagonistic; opposite |
Synonyms: |
adverse, anti, antipathetic, antipodal, antipodean, antithetical, balky, clashing, conflicting, contradictory, contrariant, contumacious, converse, counter, diametric, discordant, dissentient, dissident, froward, headstrong, hostile, inconsistent, inimical, insubordinate, intractable, negative, nonconforming, nonconformist, obstinate, opposed, ornery*, paradoxical, perverse, rebellious, recalcitrant, recusant, refractory, restive, reverse, stubborn, unruly, wayward, wrongheaded |
Antonyms: |
accommodating, agreeing, alike, concordant, correspondent, harmonious, homogeneous, like, obliging, similar |
| Main Entry: | difficult |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | complicated; hard to comprehend |
Synonyms: |
abstract, abstruse, baffling, bewildering, complex, confounding, confusing, dark, deep, delicate, enigmatic, enigmatical, entangled, esoteric, formidable, hard to explain, hard to solve, hidden, inexplicable, intricate, involved, knotty, labyrinthine, loose, meandering, mysterious, mystical, mystifying, nice, obscure, obstinate, paradoxical, perplexing, problematical, profound, puzzling, rambling, subtle, tangled, thorny, ticklish, troublesome, unclear, unfathomable, unintelligible, vexing |
Antonyms: |
easy, simple, straightforward, uncomplicated |
| Main Entry: | ironic/ironical |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | sarcastic |
Synonyms: |
acrid, alert, arrogant, backbiting, biting, bitter, burlesque, caustic, chaffing, clever, contemptuous, contradictory, critical, cutting, cynical, defiant, derisive, disparaging, double-edged, exaggerated, implausible, incisive, incongruous, jibing, keen, mocking, mordant, paradoxical, pungent, quick-witted, ridiculous, sardonic, satiric, satirical, scathing, scoffing, sharp, sneering, spicy, trenchant, twisted, uncomplimentary, witty, wry |
Antonyms: |
considerate, deferential |
| Main Entry: | opposite |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | unlike, conflicting; completely different |
Synonyms: |
adverse, antagonistic, antipodal, antipodean, antithetical, contradictory, contrapositive, contrary, contrasted, corresponding, counter, crosswise, diametric, diametrically opposed, different, differing, dissimilar, diverse, facing, flip-side, fronting, hostile, inconsistent, independent, inimical, inverse, irreconcilable, obverse, opposed, ornery*, paradoxical, polar, repugnant, retrograde, reverse, reversed, separate, unalike, unconnected, unrelated, unsimilar, violative, vis-รก-vis |
Antonyms: |
compatible, like, similar |
| Main Entry: | perplexing |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | difficult to understand |
Synonyms: |
baffling, beyond one, complicated, confusing, convoluted, disconcerting, impenetrable, intricate, involved, knotty, mind-bending, mysterious, mystifying, paradoxical, puzzling, taxing, thorny, worrying |
| Main Entry: | questionable |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | doubtful, uncertain |
Synonyms: |
ambiguous, apocryphal, arguable, contingent, controversial, controvertible, cryptic, debatable, disputable, dubious, dubitable, enigmatic, equivocal, fishy, hard to believe, hypothetical, iffy, indecisive, indefinite, indeterminate, moot, mysterious, obscure, occult, open to doubt, open to question, oracular, paradoxical, problematic, problematical, provisional, shady, suspect, suspicious, unconfirmed, undefined, under advisement, under examination, unproven, unreliable, unsettled, vague |
Antonyms: |
certain, definite, indisputable, proven, sure, undoubted, unquestionable |
| Main Entry: | satirical/satiric |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | mocking |
Synonyms: |
abusive, bantering, biting, bitter, burlesque, caustic, censorious, chaffing, cutting, cynical, farcical, incisive, ironical, lampooning, mordant, paradoxical, parodying, pungent, ridiculing, sarcastic, sardonic, spoofing, taunting |