Complexity
/kəmˈplɛksɪti/
Definitions
2 meaningsThe state or quality of being intricate or complicated; a difficult or involved situation.
/kəmˈplɛksɪti/
The state or quality of being intricate or complicated.
The complexity of the legal system can be overwhelming.
💡 Simply: Imagine a puzzle with tons of tiny pieces that fit together in a tricky way. Complexity is like that – something that's not simple and requires careful thought to understand.
👶 For kids: It means something is tricky or has lots of parts that fit together in a hard way.
More Examples
The complexity of the human brain is astounding.
The project's complexity required a detailed plan and careful execution.
How It's Used
"The complexity of the algorithm made it difficult to debug."
"Reducing operational complexity is a key goal for the company."
"Human behavior exhibits a high degree of complexity."
Something that's difficult to understand or deal with.
/kəmˈplɛksɪti/
Something difficult to understand or deal with.
The complexity of the situation made it hard to choose a course of action.
💡 Simply: When things get so tangled up that you don't know where to begin, that's complexity. It's like trying to explain a really long story to a friend, with lots of characters and events!
👶 For kids: It means something is hard to figure out or do.
More Examples
The doctor explained the complexity of the illness.
The map did not reflect the complexity of the road network.
How It's Used
"The complexity of the instructions made assembling the furniture challenging."
Idioms & expressions
Embrace complexity
To accept and understand the difficult or complicated aspects of something.
"We need to embrace complexity to solve this problem."
Reduce complexity
To simplify or make something less complicated.
"The goal of the new software is to reduce the complexity of data analysis."
From the Latin *complexus* ('interwoven, connected'), which is the past participle of *complectere* ('to embrace, entwine'). The word's development reflects the idea of things being intricately connected and difficult to understand.
The word 'complexity' gained prominence in scientific and philosophical discourse during the 19th and 20th centuries, reflecting the increased understanding of intricate systems.
Memory tip
Think of a complex maze. It has many paths and turns, embodying complexity.