complicate
com·pli·cate/ˈkɑmplɪkeɪt/verb
complicate is spelled C-O-M-P-L-I-C-A-T-E: 10 letters and 3 syllables (com·pli·cate). It appears 1.8 times per million words in written English, the 20,629th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, complicate means “To make complex; to modify so as to make something intricate or difficult” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in complicate?
| Letters | 10: C-O-M-P-L-I-C-A-T-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: com·pli·cate |
| In writing | 1.8 times per million words; the 20,629th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is complicate?
Complicate appears 1.8 times per million words in written English, the 20,629th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce complicate?
- US /ˈkɑmplɪkeɪt/
- UK /ˈkɒmplɪkeɪt/
As an adjective (“Intertwined”): /ˈkɒmplɪkət/.
Complicate has 3 syllables, split com·pli·cate in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-complicate.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-complicate2.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of complicate
- complicates present, singular, he/she/it
- complicating participle, present
- complicated participle, past
- more complicate comparative
- most complicate superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does complicate mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To make complex; to modify so as to make something intricate or difficult.
- 2
To involve in a convoluted matter.
Don't complicate yourself in issues that are beyond the scope of your understanding.
- 3
To coexist with (another disease) creating a complication.
adjective
- 1
obsoleteIntertwined.
- 2
archaicComplex, complicated.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Complicate in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense to combine intricately:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | compliquer |
| German | komplizieren |
| Portuguese | complicar |
| Spanish | complicar, complejizar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does complicate come from?
First attested in the early 17th century; borrowed from Latin complicātus, perfect passive participle of complicō (“to fold together, fold up”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), from con- (“with, together with, in the company of, in connection with, along with, together, and”) + plicō (“to fold, wind, coil”); see plaid, and compare complex. See also Middle English complicate (“involved”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).