intricate

Definitions  ·  Examples  ·  Pronunciations  ·  Etymologies  ·  Related  ·  Statistics  ·  Comments  · 
“
I think you ought to check this one out, because it does contain the story about the candlestick robbery, and the pictures could definitely be called "intricate" -- lots of visual humour.

View all »
Definitions (8)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (2)

  1. adjective Having many complexly arranged elements; elaborate. See Synonyms at elaborate.
  2. adjective Solvable or comprehensible only with painstaking effort. See Synonyms at complex.

Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (3)

Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (2)

Toggle WordNet definitions WordNet (1)

Toggle elsewhere links Elsewhere on the web

View all »
Examples (50)

  • In some cases the sound system and inflectional system turn out to be complex and intricate, and PIE happens to be one of those cases. —  languagehat.com
  • An intricate, ageless tapestry of past and present; its song twining through the heavens on the hot, dry voice of the ever-present breeze. —  News
  • Soon the assignment turns into an intense and dangerous adventure, for there are many things that must be kept in mind -- intricate political situation, confrontation between governmental military and rebels, not to mention a necessity to choose friends and foes wisely. —  Mininova
  • The medieval-inspired look combines intricate, antique detailing with tarnished bronze and gold, which mingle with the ever-popular equestrian style for a trend that tells a story all its own. —  Stylehive Blog
  • "Medical acronyms and initialisms are becoming more intricate, and Y-geners have raised them to a higher level of complexity." —  JAMA current issue
More examples »
 

Tags

intricate hasn't been tagged yet.

Sign up or sign in to add tags.

Stats

This word has been looked up 346 times.

1 person has marked this word as a favorite.

stop updating
On Twitter

Photos from

flickr images

Add a related word »
Related

Roget's II Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

Allen's Allen's Synonyms and Antonyms

Suggestions Wordniks Suggest

Used in the same context Used in the Same Context

delicate ·  complex ·  elaborate ·  precise ·  obscure ·  bizarre ·  ingenious ·  fascinate ·  sophisticated ·  costly
Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (3)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Middle English from Latin intrīcātus, past participle of intrīcāre, to entangle, perplex : in-, in; see in-2 + trīcae, perplexities, wiles.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (2)

  1. = Old French entriqué = Spanish Portuguese intrincado, entangled, from Latin intricatus, past participle: see the verb.
  2. from Latin intricatus, past participle of intricare, entangle, perplex, embarrass, from in, in, + tricæ, trifles, vexations, perplexities. See intrigue, and cf. extricate.
 

Pronunciations
Record your own »
/ˈɪntrɪkeɪt/
by American Heritage

Charts
frequency chart

Bubble size: how much this word was used in a year

Bubble height: used more or less than expected, vs. all uses evenly distributed

You can expect to see this word about twice a month.

Recently looked up

convivial · aphorism · tabasco · KORAN · dismissive

Recent Favorites

pygopagus · sanglant · Astacus · sweetbread · qualms

Recent Pronunciations

eu oi oìa u ou e u oìa · the octopi are dry · Kansas City · spell it rite · put it in your pocket