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complexly

complexly

1 7.0
In a way that has many connected parts and is hard to understand
  • adverb
  • /kəmˈplɛksli/
translation icon : complejamente
  • The puzzle was designed complexly, with intricate pieces that challenged even the best players.
  • complexly intertwined histories
  • more complexly

It's really a simple, simple truth that is incredibly, complexly painful.

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Examples

  • Cultural brokers may thus serve as "native guides" who lead us into a complexly integrated society that is also a semantic universe.

    Academic text (1993)
  • The committee structure was set up complexly, involving multiple layers of subcommittees and decision-making protocols.

  • The process is, of course, a complexly reiterative one.

    Academic text (1993)
  • You see how quietly but complexly the camera examines the space.

  • All of these elements of the poem are complexly woven into and harmonized in this passage.

    Fiction book (1996)
  • For example, research suggests that socioeconomic status complexly interacts with, and is likely confounded by, race.

    Academic text (2017)
  • By focusing on agitators' work, I illustrate how complexly gendered these efforts were.

    Academic text (2005)
  • The quality and everything about this great advancement in the Elder Scrolls series is simply and complexly astounding.

    Blog text (1)
  • But there was an ethic in alchemy, too, that was allied in part complexly with the whole Judeo-christian tradition.

  • The data to date suggest that students have benefited from the experiences afforded them through the CI and have begun to think more complexly and critically about their future goals and possibilities.

    Academic text (2014)

Synonyms

elaborately
vscomplexly
11 4.5

In a way that has many small details and rich decoration

is complex in itself rather than decorative or ornamental
intricately
vscomplexly
10 6.3

In a very detailed, complicated way with many small parts

is general complexity without stressing many interlinked parts
twistedly
vscomplexly
1 8.7

In a complicated way that is hard to follow

is complex in a neutral sense rather than convoluted or confusing
tortuously
vscomplexly
1 9.1

In a long, winding way that is hard to follow

is simply complex without implying winding or prolonged difficulty
in an elaborate way
vscomplexly
4.4

With many careful details and clear planning

is complex but not necessarily planned or carefully detailed
sophisticatedly
vscomplexly
7.3

In a complex and carefully made way

is complex without implying refinement or advanced quality

Antonyms

110 1.0

You do this in a plain way without extra things

How Complex

elaborately
11 4.5
intricately
10 6.3
complexly
1 7.0
simply
110 1.0
plainly
68 1.8

Surface Forms

complexly positive

Morphology

complexly = complex (transparent) = complex + ly

A regular adjective-to-adverb formation: 'complex' + '-ly' = 'in a complex manner', so the meaning is directly predictable.

Etymology

The word complexly comes from complex, which comes from parts com- meaning 'together' and plex meaning 'to fold' or 'weave', so the idea was things 'folded together'. So, to do something complexly is to do it in a way with many connected parts or layers.