| / English Dictionary |
COMPLEX
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
A whole structure (as a building) made up of interconnected or related structures
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Nouns denoting man-made objects
Hypernyms ("complex" is a kind of...):
construction; structure (a thing constructed; a complex entity constructed of many parts)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "complex"):
college (a complex of buildings in which an institution of higher education is housed)
industrial plant; plant; works (buildings for carrying on industrial labor)
ribbon development (building complex in a continuous row along a road)
Sense 2
Meaning:
A conceptual whole made up of complicated and related parts
Example:
the complex of shopping malls, houses, and roads created a new town
Synonyms:
complex; composite
Classified under:
Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents
Hypernyms ("complex" is a kind of...):
whole (all of something including all its component elements or parts)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "complex"):
hybrid (a composite of mixed origin)
syndrome (a complex of concurrent things)
Sense 3
Meaning:
(psychoanalysis) a combination of emotions and impulses that have been rejected from awareness but still influence a person's behavior
Classified under:
Nouns denoting feelings and emotions
Hypernyms ("complex" is a kind of...):
feeling (the experiencing of affective and emotional states)
Domain category:
analysis; depth psychology; psychoanalysis (a set of techniques for exploring underlying motives and a method of treating various mental disorders; based on the theories of Sigmund Freud)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "complex"):
Oedipal complex; Oedipus complex (a complex of males; desire to possess the mother sexually and to exclude the father; said to be a source of personality disorders if unresolved)
Electra complex (a complex of females; sexual attraction to the father)
inferiority complex (a sense of personal inferiority arising from conflict between the desire to be noticed and the fear of being humiliated)
Sense 4
Meaning:
A compound described in terms of the central atom to which other atoms are bound or coordinated
Synonyms:
complex; coordination compound
Classified under:
Hypernyms ("complex" is a kind of...):
chemical compound; compound ((chemistry) a substance formed by chemical union of two or more elements or ingredients in definite proportion by weight)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "complex"):
hydrochloride (a complex consisting of an organic base in association with hydrogen chloride)
II. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Complicated in structure; consisting of interconnected parts
Example:
a complex mass of diverse laws and customs
Classified under:
Similar:
labyrinthian; labyrinthine; mazy (resembling a labyrinth in form or complexity)
intricate (having many complexly arranged elements; elaborate)
interlacing; interlinking; interlocking; interwoven (linked or locked closely together as by dovetailing)
Gordian (extremely intricate; usually in phrase 'Gordian knot')
daedal (complex and ingenious in design or function)
compound (consisting of two or more substances or ingredients or elements or parts)
composite (consisting of separate interconnected parts)
complex; complicated (difficult to analyze or understand)
colonial; compound (composed of many distinct individuals united to form a whole or colony)
Byzantine; convoluted; involved; knotty; tangled; tortuous (highly complex or intricate and occasionally devious)
analyzable; decomposable (capable of being partitioned)
multifactorial (involving or depending on several factors or causes (especially pertaining to a condition or disease resulting from the interaction of many genes))
multiplex (having many parts or aspects)
thickening (becoming more intricate or complex)
Also:
compound (composed of more than one part)
difficult; hard (not easy; requiring great physical or mental effort to accomplish or comprehend or endure)
Attribute:
complexity; complexness (the quality of being intricate and compounded)
Antonym:
simple (having few parts; not complex or complicated or involved)
Derivation:
complexity; complexness (the quality of being intricate and compounded)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Difficult to analyze or understand
Example:
he's more complex than he seems on the surface
Synonyms:
complex; complicated
Classified under:
Similar:
complex (complicated in structure; consisting of interconnected parts)
III. (verb)
Sense 1
Present simple (first person singular and plural, second person singular and plural, third person plural) of the verb complex
Context examples:
The mitochondrial permeability transition pore (mtPTP) complex, which includes ANT, mediates sudden increase in inner mitochondrial membrane permeability common in apoptosis.
(Adenine Nucleotide Translocator-2, NCI Thesaurus)
This internal compass can help orient animals who live in a complex, dynamic three-dimensional habitat,” said Mike Sieracki, a program director in NSF's Division of Ocean Sciences.
(North Atlantic haddock use magnetic compass to guide them, National Science Foundation)
The lab tests are a step in simulating the complex environment of an infected wound.
(Clay fights MRSA, other 'superbugs' in wounds, National Science Foundation)
During mitosis, APC localizes to microtubule ends within kinetochores forming a complex with BUB1 and BUB3 checkpoint proteins.
(Adenomatous Polyposis Coli Protein, NCI Thesaurus)
Wave-1 is held in an inactive complex in the cytosol that is activated to allow Wave-1 to associate with Arp2/3.
(Actin Branching Pathway, NCI Thesaurus/BIOCARTA)
These proteins direct a complex network of protein filaments that provide stability to the cellular infrastructure by supporting the dynamic motility of microfilaments, thereby enabling intracellular translocation and organelle transport.
(Actin-Binding Protein, NCI Thesaurus)
Actin-related protein 2/3 complex subunit 1B (372 aa, ~41 kDa) is encoded by the human ARPC1B gene.
(Actin-Related Protein 2/3 Complex Subunit 1B, NCI Thesaurus)
RASD1 may form a ternary complex with CAPON and NOS1 and may function as a physiologic nitric oxide (NO) effector.
(Activator of G-Protein Signaling 1, NCI Thesaurus)
Abiraterone inhibits the enzymatic activity of steroid 17alpha-monooxygenase (17alpha-hydrolase/C17,20 lyase complex; CYP17A1), a member of the cytochrome p450 family that catalyzes the 17alpha-hydroxylation of steroid intermediates involved in testosterone synthesis.
(Abiraterone, NCI Thesaurus)
The Drosophila gene Acf1 encodes ATP-dependent chromatin assembly factor large subunit, a component of the chromatin assembly complex involved in chromatin assembly/disassembly.
(ACF complex, NCI Thesaurus)
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