Complicatedly

Part of speech: adverb

Definitions

1. In a way that involves many intricate details that create difficulty for comprehension
2. Through a method marked by elaborate and perplexing components leading to confusion
3. Done in a manner that involves many interconnected parts making understanding challenging

Etymology: "Complicatedly" is a plain derivation: the adjective "complicated" with the adverb-forming suffix "-ly" added to the end. The adjective "complicated" comes from the past participle form of the Latin-derived verb "complicare," meaning to fold together or entangle, so the word's core idea is things folded or knotted into one another. The suffix has a longer ancestry than the base word. "-ly" descends from an Old English form "-līċe," which goes back to a Germanic root meaning "body" or "form," so an adverb like this was originally built on the idea of something being "in the shape of" a given quality. Over the centuries, "-ly" was worn down to the simple ending it is today, and it became the regular way to turn an adjective into an adverb. The result describes actions carried out in a way that is full of tangled steps or parts, where the complexity itself produces confusion. It is a formation of the kind English uses freely, which is why it could be coined from "complicated" whenever a speaker needed it.

Synonyms: complexly, intricately

Antonyms: simply