intricate
AdjectiveWordNet 3.0
Adjective (1)
- having many complexly arranged elements; elaborate“intricate lacework”
Webster's Dictionary (GCIDE)
Intricate \In"tri*cate\, a. [L. intricatus, p. p. of intricare to entangle, perplex. Cf. Intrigue, Extricate.] Entangled; involved; perplexed; complicated; difficult to understand, follow, arrange, or adjust; as, intricate machinery, labyrinths, accounts, plots, etc. [1913 Webster]
His style was fit to convey the most intricate business to the understanding with the utmost clearness. --Addison. [1913 Webster]
The nature of man is intricate. --Burke.
Syn: Intricate, Complex, Complicated.
Usage: A thing is complex when it is made up of parts; it is complicated when those parts are so many, or so arranged, as to make it difficult to grasp them; it is intricate when it has numerous windings and confused involutions which it is hard to follow out. What is complex must be resolved into its parts; what is complicated must be drawn out and developed; what is intricate must be unraveled. [1913 Webster]
Intricate \In"tri*cate\, v. t. To entangle; to involve; to make perplexing. [Obs.] [1913 Webster]
It makes men troublesome, and intricates all wise discourses. --Jer. Taylor. [1913 Webster]