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

The company’s spinoff of FedEx Freight also complicates comparability, and investors are waiting until the newly independent company reports financials on Thursday to see how the freight industry performed.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 24, 2026

In “House of the Dragon,” another factor complicates the sons’ ascension: Their authority figures are now their mothers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 22, 2026

That complicates companies’ calculations about where to invest and source inputs even further.

From Barron's ● May 26, 2026

The immediate reappearance of Colbert in a different format complicates that framing, suggesting not an endpoint but a transition across media forms.

From Salon ● May 23, 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