| 释义 |
com·plex
I. \(ˈ)käm|pleks, kəmˈp-\ transitive verb
(-ed/-ing/-es)
Etymology: Latin complexus, past participle of complecti
1. : to make complex or into a complex
< a complexing problem >
2. : chelate II
II. adjective
(sometimes -er/-est)
Etymology: Latin complexus, past participle of complecti to entwine around, embrace, from com- + plectere to braid — more at ply
1.
a. : composed of two or more separable or analyzable items, parts, constituents, or symbols : composite — opposed to simple
< the complex sign “2 × 5.10” — A.J.Ayer >
< the sea is a complex mixture of chemicals — W.H.Dowdeswell >
b.
(1) of a word : having a bound form as one or both of its immediate constituents
< unmanly is a complex word >
— contrasted with compound, simple
(2) of a sentence : consisting of a main clause and one or more subordinate clauses
< make hay while the sun shines is a complex sentence >
— contrasted with compound, simple
2.
a. : having many varied interrelated parts, patterns, or elements and consequently hard to understand fully
< a complex camera with many attachments >
< a complex industrial process >
< complex tissue >
b. : marked by an involvement of many parts, aspects, details, notions, and necessitating earnest study or examination to understand or cope with
< an extremely complex industrial and commercial enterprise far removed from the simplicities of farming — American Guide Series: California >
< movements as vast and complex as the migration of peoples — Lewis Mumford >
< a complex mass of diverse laws and customs, written and unwritten — H.O.Taylor >
3. : formed by union of simpler substances (as compounds or ions) — used of salts, ions, and other chemical combinations
< a complex protein >
Synonyms:
complicated, intricate, knotty, involved: complex stresses the fact of combining or folding together various parts and suggests that considerable study, knowledge, or experience is needed for comprehension or operation
< all legal definitions are highly complex — C.K.Ogden & I.A.Richards >
< the complex details of naval, ground, and air activities — F.D.Roosevelt >
< a complex apparatus of washers, scales, slicers, diffusion tanks, purifiers, filter presses, evaporators, vacuum pans, centrifugal machines, and driers — American Guide Series: California >
complicated may heighten notions of difficulty in understanding
< business so big and complicated that neither the propertied class nor the working class could understand it — G.B.Shaw >
intricate suggests difficulty of understanding or appreciating quickly because of perplexing interconnecting, interweaving, or interacting of parts
< the economic situation is so complex, so intricate in the interdependence of delicately balanced factors — John Dewey >
< complex in themselves, and intricate in their interaction — H.O.Taylor >
knotty suggests so much perplexity, difficulty, or entanglement that solution or understanding is improbable
< many knotty problems … that it will require the combined resources of the linguist, the logician, the psychologist, and the critical philosopher to clear up for us — Edward Sapir >
< your question … is a knotty one, and such as, had I the wisdom of Solomon, I should be puzzled to answer — William Cowper >
involved indicates an intertwining such that some parts return or seem to return upon themselves, as in certain difficult knots, making unraveling or understanding very hard
< public issues are so large and so involved that it is only a few who can hope to have any adequate comprehension of them — G.L.Dickinson >
III. \ˈkämˌpleks also ˈ ̷ ̷ˈ ̷ ̷ sometimes ̷ ̷ˈ ̷ ̷\ noun
(-es)
Etymology: Latin complexus surrounding, embrace, from complexus, past participle of complecti
1. : an association of related things often in intricate combination: as
a. : a group of culture traits relating to a single activity (as hunting, maize growing, pottery making), process (as the use of flint, construction of megalithic monuments), or unit of culture (as Folsom, neo-Eskimo) : an aggregate of artifacts — called also culture complex, trait-complex
b. [German komplex, from Latin complexus] : a system of repressed or suppressed desires and memories that exerts a dominating influence upon the personality; broadly : exaggerated reaction (as of fear or sensitiveness) to some subject or situation
< she has always had a complex about bugs >
c. : a group of obviously related units (as of species) of which the degree and nature of the relationship is imperfectly known
d.
(1) : a haploid chromosome set containing a specified set of genes arranged in a particular order
(2) : a group of chromosomes that always pass together in meiosis to one daughter cell — compare genome
e. : a group of kinds of organisms (as clones, strains, or varieties) showing common adaptation of a particular kind, usually to a specialized environment
2. : a conjunction of varied contributing or interacting factors, elements, or qualities: as
a. : a complex substance (as a coordination compound, an ion containing several atoms, or an adsorption compound)
< molecular complexes >
< enzyme-substrate complex >
— usually distinguished from mixture
b. : an assemblage of different rocks having structural relations intricately involved
< the Archean complex >
c. : a complex word — contrasted with compound, simplex
d. : the sum of factors (as symptoms and lesions) characteristic of a disease
< symptom complex >
< primary tuberculous complex >
Synonyms: see system
IV. adjective
1. : of, concerned with, being, or containing complex numbers
< a complex root >
< complex analysis >
2. of wine : having a multiplicity of flavors or aromas
• complexity noun
V. noun
: a building or group of buildings housing related units
< an apartment complex >
< a sports complex > |