Word
complexity
Meanings
the state of being complicated because of many connected parts or factors
a complicated feature or detail that makes something harder to handle or understand
Definition
Complexity is the state of having many interconnected parts, making something difficult to understand or manage.
Complexity refers to how complicated something is because it contains many parts, steps, or relationships that affect each other. It often makes a system, task, or idea harder to predict, explain, or control. People talk about complexity in areas like technology, organizations, language, and everyday problem-solving.
Examples
- The complexity of the supply chain became obvious once every delay started affecting multiple teams at once.
- She explained the complexity of the novel’s structure by tracing how each narrator reshaped the same events.
- I underestimated the complexity of migrating the database, so I scheduled extra time for testing and rollback plans.
- They embraced the complexity of the ecosystem rather than forcing a single, simple explanation for every change.
Common mistake
Learners often confuse complexity with complication, but complexity can be neutral (many parts) while complication usually implies an unwanted problem.
More at C1 level
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More nouns
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