overcomplicated

adjective

over·​com·​pli·​cat·​ed ˌō-vər-ˈkäm-plə-ˌkā-təd How to pronounce overcomplicated (audio)
: complicated to an excessive degree : overly difficult to understand or explain
an overcomplicated system/plot
overcomplicated assembly instructions
The dishes were never overcomplicated, yet were subtly complex …Thomas Matthews
overcomplicate transitive verb
overcomplicated; overcomplicating
no need to overcomplicate the process
… just watch the ball and hit it and try not to overcomplicate things. Colin Munro

Examples of overcomplicated in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Unfortunately, the system is one of the worst of the year, failing to connect with my Droid for the majority of the test and being generally overcomplicated and anti-intuitive. Josh Max, Forbes, 2 Oct. 2024 All the ingredients were pristine, but it wasn't overcomplicated or filling in a bad way. Megan Spurrell, Condé Nast Traveler, 21 Apr. 2023 Stuart Isett—Fortune The U.S. health system has often been criticized for putting profits above patients with exorbitant fees and overcomplicated processes that get in the way of keeping people healthy. Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez, Fortune Well, 24 May 2024 If life has become overcomplicated, make an effort to remove some of those obstacles. Tarot.com, Baltimore Sun, 29 Mar. 2024 The ghosts aim to widen the significance of these events, but their observations are usually either overcomplicated or banal—sometimes both. Maggie Doherty, The New Yorker, 15 Apr. 2024 As is increasingly common in our remorselessly overcomplicated age, the coverage of Hamas’s extraordinarily brutal incursion into the nation of Israel has been sliced and diced along a whole host of convoluted lines. Charles C. W. Cooke, National Review, 10 Oct. 2023 So many series on TV right now are overlong, overserious, overcomplicated and overly dull. Kelly Lawler, USA TODAY, 28 June 2023 Last year its groundbreaking Tonda Rattrapante GMT brought minimalism to the often overcomplicated complication of two time zones, via a hidden second hour hand, revealed by a push of a button. Paul Croughton, Robb Report, 18 June 2023

Word History

First Known Use

1832, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of overcomplicated was in 1832

Dictionary Entries Near overcomplicated

Cite this Entry

“Overcomplicated.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/overcomplicated. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.

More from Merriam-Webster on overcomplicated

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!