COMPLEX • DICTIONARY ONE.COM • Definition of Complex

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/kˈɑmplɛks/ /kəmplˈɛks/ Listen

adjective

Complex adj.

Composed of two or more parts; composite; not simple; as, a complex being; a complex idea. "Ideas thus made up of several simple ones put together, I call complex; such as beauty, gratitude, a man, an army, the universe."

Involving many parts; complicated; intricate. "When the actual motions of the heavens are calculated in the best possible way, the process is difficult and complex."

Complex fraction. See Fraction.

Complex number (Math.), in the theory of numbers, an expression of the form a + b*sqrt(-1), when a and b are ordinary integers.

Synonyms: See Intricate.

noun

Complex n. Assemblage of related things; collection; complication. "This parable of the wedding supper comprehends in it the whole complex of all the blessings and privileges exhibited by the gospel."

Complex of lines (Geom.), all the possible straight lines in space being considered, the entire system of lines which satisfy a single relation constitute a complex; as, all the lines which meet a given curve make up a complex. The lines which satisfy two relations constitute a congruency of lines; as, the entire system of lines, each one of which meets two given surfaces, is a congruency.

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Etymology of 'Complex'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Complex" Quotes from Famous Books

... first upon the bride; the sight of her filled him with a curious stir of emotion. Alarm, desire, affection, respect—and a queer element of reluctant dislike all played their part in that complex eddy. The grey dress made her a stranger to him, made her stiff and commonplace, she was not even the rather drooping form that had caught his facile sense of beauty when he had proposed to her in the Recreation Ground. There was something too that did not please him in the ...

— The History of Mr. Polly • H. G. Wells

... strength is uniform throughout a magnetic shell is called simple; if its strength varies it is termed complex. ...

— The Standard Electrical Dictionary - A Popular Dictionary of Words and Terms Used in the Practice - of Electrical Engineering • T. O'Conor Slone

... house in the town was infinitely slight—his common sense told him that. But supposing—just supposing that they actually had chosen his aunt's abode for their prey!... Conceivably they had learnt that Mrs. Maldon was to have a large sum of money under her roof. Conceivably a complex plan had been carefully laid. Conceivably one of the great burglaries of criminal history might be in progress. It was not impossible. No wonder that, with bank-notes loose all over the place, his shockingly negligent auntie should have special qualms concerning burglars ...

— The Price of Love • Arnold Bennett

... The red, sullen lips stamped the delicate, fanatical face with cruelty and barbaric indulgence, while yet there was an intensity in the eyes that showed the man was possessed of an idea which mastered him —a root-thought. David was at once conscious of a complex personality, of a man in whom two natures fought. He understood it. By instinct the man was a Mahdi, by heredity he was a voluptuary, that strange commingling of the religious and the evil found in so many criminals. In some far corner of ...

— The Judgment House • Gilbert Parker

... with India; bilateral negotiations are under way to resolve disputed sections of the boundary with the USSR; a short section of the boundary with North Korea is indefinite; sporadic border clashes with Vietnam; involved in a complex dispute over the Spratly Islands with Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam; maritime boundary dispute with Vietnam in the Gulf of Tonkin; Paracel Islands occupied by China, but claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan; claims Japanese-administered Senkaku-shoto ...

— The 1991 CIA World Factbook • United States. Central Intelligence Agency.

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