noun
complication
kom-plih-KAY-shuhn
noun
1
A problem or difficulty that makes a situation harder to deal with.
"An unexpected complication delayed the project by weeks."
2
(medicine) A secondary condition that arises during or after an illness and makes it worse.
"Pneumonia is a serious complication of the flu in elderly patients."
3
(horology) An extra function on a watch beyond simply telling the time, such as a date display or moon phase.
"The watch has a chronograph complication."
How to Use Complication
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishAn added difficulty or problem, or (in medicine) a knock-on health issue.
Common pairings
medical complication
run into complications
without complications
Word Forms
complications plural
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An unexpected _____ delayed the project by weeks.
Etymology
From Latin complicatio, "a folding together," the noun form of complicare — see "complicate."