■ adjective
1》 consisting of many different and connected parts.
2》 not easy to understand; complicated.
3》 Mathematics (of a number) containing both a real and an imaginary participle
■ noun
1》 an interlinked system; a network.
↘a group of similar buildings or facilities on the same site.
2》 Psychoanalysis a related group of repressed or partly repressed emotionally significant ideas which lead to abnormal mental states or behaviour.
↘ informal a feeling of disproportionate anxiety about something.
3》 Chemistry an ion or molecule in which one or more groups are linked to a metal atom by coordinate bonds.
■ verb Chemistry make (an atom or compound) form a ~ with another.
Derivatives
~ation noun ( Chemistry ).
~ity noun ( plural ~ities ).
~ly adverb
Origin
C17 (asnoun): from L. ~us , from complectere 'embrace, comprise', later assoc. with ~us 'plaited'; the adjective is partly via Fr. ~e .