intricate
adjective
No English definition recorded for this entry.
L337858 on Wikidata ↗Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /ˈɪn.tɹɪ.kət/ / /ˈɪn.tɹɪ.keɪt/
adj
Etymology: From Middle English intricat(e) (“entangled, intricate”), from Latin intrīcātus, perfect passive participle of intricō, see -ate (adjective-forming suffix).
- Having a great deal of fine detail or complexity.
“The architecture of this clock is very intricate.”
“As a matter of fact its narrow ornate façade presented not a single quiet space that the eyes might rest on after a tiring attempt to follow and codify the arabesques, foliations, and intricate vermiculations of what some disrespectfully dubbed as “near-aissance.””
- Difficult to disentangle, puzzle apart, or resolve; enigmatic, obscure.
“The Ways of Heav’n are dark and intricate, Puzzled in Mazes, and perplext with Errors; Our Underſtanding traces ’em in vain, Loſt and bewilder’d in the fruitleſs Search; Nor ſees with how much Art the Windings run, Nor where the regular Confuſion ends.”
“His style of writing […] was […]fit to convey the most intricate business to the understanding […]with the utmost clearness.”
verb
Etymology: As for Etymology 1; from Latin intrīcātus, see -ate (verb-forming suffix).
- To become enmeshed or entangled.
“[…] washes off easily, without sticking or intricating into the wound.”
- To enmesh or entangle: to cause to intricate.
“But the British and French won't hear of that; they want to get their troops extricated and our ground troops intricated.”