/ kəmˈplekʃn; NAmE / noun
1.
the natural colour and condition of the skin on a person's face :
a pale / bad complexion
2.
[ usually sing. ] the general character of sth :
a move which changed the political complexion of the country
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IDIOMS
- put a new / different complexion on sth
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WORD ORIGIN
Middle English : via Old French from Latin complexio(n-) combination (in late Latin physical constitution), from complectere embrace, comprise. The term originally denoted physical constitution or temperament determined by the combination of the four bodily humours; sense 1 (late 16th cent.) being a visible sign of this.