complication
UK: ˌkɒmplɪˈkeɪʃən | US: ˌkɑːmplɪˈkeɪʃən
n. 1. A situation that makes something harder to understand or deal with.
n. 2. (Medical) A secondary disease or condition aggravating an existing one.
n. 3. The act or process of making something more intricate or complex.
Derived from Latin complicare ("to fold together"), combining com- (intensifying prefix) and plicare ("to fold"). The word originally described physical entanglement but evolved metaphorically to denote abstract complexity, especially in medical contexts (e.g., "complications" in surgery). The root plic persists in related words like "implicate" (fold into) and "duplicate" (fold twice).
The project faced unexpected complications due to budget cuts.
Post-surgical complications delayed her recovery.
Legal complications arose from the unclear contract terms.
Adding too many rules can lead to unnecessary complications.
The plot’s complication kept readers engaged until the end.