Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Having many complexly arranged elements; elaborate.
  • adjective Difficult to understand, analyze, or solve for having many interconnected elements. synonym: complex.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Perplexingly involved or entangled; hard to disentangle or disengage, or to trace out; complicated; obscure: as, an intricate knot; the intricate windings of a labyrinth; intricate accounts; the intricate plot of a tragedy.
  • In entomology, having unequal elevations and depressions placed irregularly and close together, but without running into each other: said of a sculptured surface.
  • To render intricate or involved; make perplexing or obscure.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • transitive verb obsolete To entangle; to involve; to make perplexing.
  • adjective Entangled; involved; perplexed; complicated; difficult to understand, follow, arrange, or adjust

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Having a great deal of fine detail or complexity.
  • verb intransitive To become enmeshed or entangled.
  • verb transitive To enmesh or entangle: to cause to intricate.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective having many complexly arranged elements; elaborate

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

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

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Latin intricatus (past participle of intricare).

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

As the adjective; or by analogy with extricate

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Examples

Comments

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  • Complicated.

    October 1, 2010

  • After walking for many hours along an intricate series of paths and grassy trails , the two travellers came upon a lush , green vally

    August 22, 2015