complicating
Making more complex
Complicating means making something more complex or difficult.
A complicating factor adds difficulty to a situation.
Complicating matters introduces additional problems: Complicating matters, the power went out during surgery.
The word often signals that something already difficult is about to get worse.
Elaborately detailed, many parts
- convolutedExcessively complex or twisted
- elaborateComplex and detailed
- multifacetedHaving many dimensions
- tangledTwisted confusedly together
entangled · byzantine · labyrinthine · nuanced · sophisticated · involved · tortuous · knotty
Hard to accomplish
- demandingRequiring great effort
- difficultRequiring much effort
- arduousDemanding strenuous effort
- toughDurable and strong
troublesome · problematic · vexing · thorny · knotty · tricky · daunting · taxing
Creating obstacles to progress
- impedingBlocking forward motion
- hamperingInterfering with progress
- thwartingObstructing intended outcomes
- blockingImpeding forward progress
stymieing · interfering · inhibiting · frustrating · encumbering · disrupting · delaying · derailing
Making something worse
- aggravatingCausing irritation or worsening
- escalatingIncreasing by degrees
- intensifyingIncreasing in strength
- heighteningIncreasing in degree
worsening · deepening · magnifying · amplifying · compounding · inflaming · reinforcing · multiplying
intricate
Elaborately detailed, many parts
- convolutedExcessively complex or twisted
- elaborateComplex and detailed
- multifacetedHaving many dimensions
tangled · entangled · byzantine · labyrinthine · nuanced · sophisticated · involved · tortuous · knotty · interwoven
challenging
Hard to accomplish
tough · troublesome · problematic · vexing · thorny · knotty · tricky · daunting · taxing · formidable
hindering
Creating obstacles to progress
- impedingBlocking forward motion
- hamperingInterfering with progress
- thwartingObstructing intended outcomes
blocking · stymieing · interfering · inhibiting · frustrating · encumbering · disrupting · delaying · derailing · constraining
exacerbating
Making something worse
- aggravatingCausing irritation or worsening
- escalatingIncreasing by degrees
- intensifyingIncreasing in strength
heightening · worsening · deepening · magnifying · amplifying · compounding · inflaming · reinforcing · multiplying · accelerating
- interferenceinterfering, meddling, intruding, butting in, obstructing
- overwhelmingoverwhelming, overpowering, crushing, engulfing, smothering
complicatingsimplifying
Making less complex
streamlining · easing · untangling · facilitating · smoothing
complicatingclarifying
Making something understandable
explaining · explicating · elucidating · demystifying · clearing up
complicatingstreamlining
Making more aerodynamic or efficient
expediting · accelerating · enabling · helping · assisting
- birth complicationsDangerous events during delivery
- pregnancy complicationsHealth problems during gestation
- flu complicationsMedical problems following influenza
- surgical complicationsNegative outcomes from procedures