complication Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun the act or process of complicating
  2. noun a situation or condition that is complex or confused
    • her coming was a serious complication
  3. noun any disease or disorder that occurs during the course of (or because of) another disease
    • bed sores are a common complication in cases of paralysis
  4. noun a development that complicates a situation
    ramification.
    • the court's decision had many unforeseen ramifications
  5. noun puzzling complexity
    tortuousness; complicatedness; knottiness.

WordNet

Com`pli*ca"tion noun
Etymology
L. compliasion: cf. F. complication.
Definitions
  1. The act or process of complicating; the state of being complicated; intricate or confused relation of parts; entaglement; complexity.
    A complication of diseases. Macaulay.
    Through and beyond these dark complications of the present, the New England founders looked to the great necessities of future times. Palfrey.
  2. (Med.) A disease or diseases, or adventitious circumstances or conditions, coexistent with and modifying a primary disease, but not necessarily connected with it.

Webster 1913