complicated
com·pli·cat·ed/ˈkɑm.plɪˌkeɪ.tɪd/adjective, verb
complicated is spelled C-O-M-P-L-I-C-A-T-E-D: 11 letters and 4 syllables (com·pli·cat·ed). It appears 30 times per million words in written English, the 3,161st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, complicated means “Difficult or convoluted” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in complicated?
| Letters | 11: C-O-M-P-L-I-C-A-T-E-D |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4: com·pli·cat·ed |
| In writing | 30 times per million words; the 3,161st 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 complicated?
Complicated appears 30 times per million words in written English, the 3,161st 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 complicated?
- UK /ˈkɒm.plɪ.keɪ.tɪd/
- US /ˈkɑm.plɪˌkeɪ.tɪd/
- US [ˈkɑm.plɪˌkeɪ.ɾɪd]
Complicated has 4 syllables, split com·pli·cat·ed in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-complicated.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of complicated
- more complicated comparative
- most complicated superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does complicated mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Difficult or convoluted.
It seems this complicated situation will not blow over soon.
- 2
Folded longitudinally (as in the wings of certain insects).
verb
- 1
simple past and past participle of complicate
The process of fixing the car engine was complicated by the lack of tools.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Complicated in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense difficult or convoluted:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | compliqué, alambiqué |
| German | kompliziert, umständlich, schwierig, verzwickt, undurchschaubar |
| Portuguese | complicado |
| Spanish | complicado |
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.