Definition of "complex"

complex

/ˈkɒm.plɛks/

adjective
comparative complexer or more complex, superlative complexest or most complex
1. Made up of multiple parts; composite; not simple.
  Quotations
  Ideas thus made up of several simple ones put together, I call complex; such as beauty, gratitude, a man, an army, the universe.
  1689 (indicated as 1690), [John Locke], chapter 2, in An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding. […], London: […] Eliz[abeth] Holt, for Thomas Basset, […], book I, page 12
2. Not simple, easy, or straightforward; complicated.
  Quotations
  If, when the actual motions of the heavens are calculated in the best possible way, the process is complex and difficult, and if we are discontented at this, nature, and not the astronomer, must be the object of our displeasure.
  1837, William Whewell, “Inductive Epoch of Hipparchus”, in History of the Inductive Sciences, from the Earliest to the Present Times. […], volume I, London: John W[illiam] Parker, […]; Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: J. and J. J. Deighton, book III (History of Greek Astronomy), section 2 (Estimate of the Value of the Theory of Eccentrics and Epicycles), page 183
3. (mathematics, of a number) Having the form a + bi, where a and b are real numbers and i is (by definition) the imaginary square root of −1.
4. (mathematics, mathematical analysis, of a function) Whose range is a subset of the complex numbers.
5. (mathematics, algebra) Whose coefficients are complex numbers; defined over the field of complex numbers.
6. (geometry) A curve, polygon or other figure that crosses or intersects itself.
noun
plural complexes
1. A problem. (clarification of this definition is needed)
2. A network of interconnected systems.
3. A collection of buildings with a common purpose, such as a university or military base.
  Quotations
  The south polar region of Promethei Planum developed a Bermuda Triangle reputation. Satellites detected intermittent mass concentrations and magnetic field shifts. In 2148, prospectors working near Deseado Crater discovered an underground complex: a Prothean observation post. The odd phenomena were generated by the operation and discharge of a mass effect core, struggling to function despite fifty millennia of neglect.
  2008, BioWare, Mass Effect (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, PC, scene: Protheans: Mars Ruins Codex entry
  A man at the complex said he had seen the often heavily made-up girls coming and going in luxury vehicles.
  2021 February 6, The Courier-Mail, Brisbane, page 4, column 1
4. An assemblage of related things; a collection.
  Quotations
  This parable of the wedding supper comprehends in it the whole complex of all the blessings and privileges exhibited by the gospel.
  1692–1717, Robert South, Twelve Sermons Preached upon Several Occasions, 6th edition, volumes (please specify |volume=I to VI), London: […] J[ames] Bettenham, for Jonah Bowyer, […], published 1727
  1. An organized cluster of thunderstorms.
  2. A cluster of wildfires burning in the same vicinity.
    Quotations
    As of early Wednesday, there were at least 25 major wildfires and fire complexes, the term given to multiple fires in a single geographic area, burning in California, Christine McMorrow, a Cal Fire information officer, said.
    2020 September 16, “Millions of acres burn in California as weather improves in Northwest.”, in The New York Times, retrieved September 16, 2020
  3. (taxonomy) A group of closely related species, often distinguished only with difficulty by traditional morphological methods.
    Quotations
    Since then, a good deal of research has documented and concluded that the nominal species A. fraterculus actually comprises an unresolved complex of cryptic species.
    2015 November 26, Mosè Manni et al., “Relevant genetic differentiation among Brazilian populations of Anastrepha fraterculus (Diptera, Tephritidae)”, in ZooKeys, volume 540
5. (psychoanalysis) A collection of ideas caused by repressed emotions that leads to an abnormal mental condition
6. (informal, by extension) A vehement, often excessive psychological dislike or fear of a particular thing.
7. (chemistry) A structure consisting of a central atom or molecule weakly connected to surrounding atoms or molecules, as for example coordination complexes in inorganic chemistry and protein complexes in biochemistry.
  Quotations
  Oxygen levels on Earth skyrocketed 2.4 billion years ago, when cyanobacteria evolved photosynthesis: […] . The evolutionary precursor of photosynthesis is still under debate, and a new study sheds light. The critical component of the photosynthetic system is the “water-oxidizing complex”, made up of manganese atoms and a calcium atom.
  2013 September-October, Katie L. Burke, “In the News”, in American Scientist
8. (mathematics) A complex number.
  Quotations
  The interesting aspect here is that U3 is irreducible, even though all irreps over the complexes are one-dimensional because ℤ4 is abelian.
  1996, Barry Simon, Representations of Finite and Compact Groups, page 50
9. (linguistics) A multimorphemic word, one with several parts, one with affixes.
verb
third-person singular simple present complexes, present participle complexing, simple past and past participle complexed
1. (chemistry, intransitive) To form a complex with another substance
2. (transitive) To complicate.

Definition of "complex"

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