complication

\kɔ̃.pli.ka.sjɔ̃\

/\kɔ̃.pli.ka.sjɔ̃\/ noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“complication” has 18 generated spelling variants in the French index at frequency #24,523. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#24,523
frequency rank, French
8,609
“C” headwords
18
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Assemblage, concours d’éléments, de circonstances ou d’incidents multiples susceptibles de créer des embarras, ou d’augmenter la difficulté ou le danger.

Corpus desk

Index FR-complication · complication · French

complication · rank #24,523 · 18 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #24,523
  • LEN-MEGA 12 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 18 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 8,609
  • PHOTO-FINISH commanditaire

Nearest frequency peer: commanditaire (-1 rank slots)

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Pairs de rang près de l'aimant d'erreurs « complication »

Même bande de rareté: utile si une faute tombe sur un lemme voisin

corpus weight

What this shows « complication » siège parmi ces pairs FrequencyWords; la profondeur des fautes est suivie à part dans le graphique d'édition.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

complication vs complications
92% similar
complication vs compilation
83% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for complication
PropertyValue
Headwordcomplication
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\kɔ̃.pli.ka.sjɔ̃\
Letters12
Frequency rank#24,523
Misspellings tracked18
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Fréquence de l'aimant d'erreurs « complication »

Cette échelle va du noyau du français courant (gauche) jusqu'à la traîne des formes rares (droite).complicationse place ici:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Les tics avancent en logarithme; chacun est de l'ordre de dix fois plus rare. Dans la même bande de rareté figurent « commanditaire » (#24,522), « compote » (#24,524), « colossal » (#24,521). Parmi 8,609 lemmes en « C », « complication » est au #24,523. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 18 spelling variants around complication (IPA \kɔ̃.pli.ka.sjɔ̃\), anoun. Corpus frequency is #24,523 among 8,609 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 18 likely wrong-spelling variants for complication, with forms such as "ccomplication", "cmoplication", and "comlpication". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "complications", "compilation", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct French form is complication, spelled C-O-M-P-L-I-C-A-T-I-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    Assemblage, concours d’éléments, de circonstances ou d’incidents multiples susceptibles de créer des embarras, ou d’augmenter la difficulté ou le danger.
  2. 2
    Propension à considérer les événements, les êtres ou les choses, plus complexes qu’ils le sont.
  3. 3
    Fonctions supplémentaires ajoutées au mécanisme de base comme par exemple le tourbillon ou le quantième perpétuel.
  4. 4
    Montre ou garde-temps comportant une ou plusieurs complications.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how complication appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Ce coin perdu de Jan-Mayen n’est pas à l’abri des cancans, des mystères, des intrigues et même des complications diplomatiques.
  2. Jolie somme ! Mais restait à la toucher… Or, ici, commence un procès aux complications inénarrables, et qui dura dix ans.

Antonyms

simplification

This word in other languages

setback(English)complicación(Español)Komplikation(Deutsch)complicação(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ccomplication
  • cmoplication
  • comlpication
  • commplication
  • compilcation
  • complciation
  • compliaction
  • complicaiton
  • complicatino
  • complicationn
  • complicatoin
  • complicattion
  • compliccation
  • complictaion
  • compllication
  • compplication
  • copmlication
  • ocmplication

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of complication - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

ccomplication1cmoplication2comlpication2commplication1compilcation2complciation2compliaction2complicaiton2
Edit distance from "complication"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 French corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "complication"?
"complication" is spelled C-O-M-P-L-I-C-A-T-I-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is \kɔ̃.pli.ka.sjɔ̃\.
What does "complication" mean?
As a noun, "complication" means: Assemblage, concours d’éléments, de circonstances ou d’incidents multiples susceptibles de créer des embarras, ou d’augmenter la difficulté ou le danger.
What words are commonly confused with "complication"?
"complication" is commonly confused with "complications", "compilation". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "complication"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "complication" is \kɔ̃.pli.ka.sjɔ̃\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "complication" come from?
"complication" is a French word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar French words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "complication", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked French headwords with 12 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

contractions#24,529convivialité#24,530autocollants#24,485entraînerait#24,578

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (18 here; floor ≥5).

concentrant18 variantsuniversalité18 variantstéléchargez18 variantsrésistantes18 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list