It is complicated vs It is complicating

Both phrases are correct, but they have different meanings and usage. 'It is complicated' is used to describe a situation that is difficult or intricate, while 'it is complicating' is used to indicate that something is causing complexity or difficulty in a situation.

Last updated: March 22, 2024 • 2358 views

It is complicated

This phrase is correct and commonly used in English to describe a situation that is difficult or intricate.

This phrase is used to express that a situation is complex, difficult to understand, or has many different parts that make it hard to deal with.

Examples:

The instructions for this game are so complicated.
The relationship between the two countries is very complicated.
I find the plot of this movie too complicated to follow.
Dealing with this issue is complicated and requires careful consideration.
The situation at work is becoming more and more complicated.

Show examples from the web [+]

It is complicated, but it is the same as the situation which arose at the previous plenary sitting and was explained by Mr Watson.
It is complicated to combine security, privacy and the protection of passenger health, but that is the responsibility that this Parliament endorses and which it entrusts to you.
It is complicated, because we are dealing with forty different products for twenty-seven countries.
The tax itself embodies many of the features of the European Union which makes it so unloved in my country: it is complicated, bureaucratic, difficult and expensive to administer and, in the UK at least, enforced by a draconian and unpopular inspectorate.
We are told that 'it is complicated'.
Okay, so we're going through all the wedding plans, and, boy, it is complicated.
When it is complicated and time-consuming for customers to change supplier, this can have a negative effect on their willingness to switch.
- Yes, it is down there over the ridge, but we must take the car, because from here it is complicated.
it is complicated though, eating well is complicated.
I mean, as you said, it is complicated and-and I... I'm sorry. I don't, I don't know exactly what to say.
So I say to Members on the other side of the House, we have had every opportunity to debate this issue, yes it is complicated, yes it is technical, but let us not abrogate our responsibilities.
It is complicated and it is difficult.
It is complicated enough sorting out divorce.
It is complicated; it is always difficult to determine the origin of any goods and where they come from.
It is complicated because it deals with all nine separately and it is necessary to submit amendments in nine sets.
It is complicated, it is difficult and it requires a combination of measures, but I call on you to continue working on it and thus to make an important contribution to a more sustainable policy.
I understand that it is complicated and that we're coming at it from two completely different places.
ComReg (Commission for Communications Regulation, Ireland) seems unable to help and instead could only tell one of my constituents, Anthony Henderson of Cork, recently that 'it is complicated'.
However, even if it is complicated, it is important to stress that we show solidarity towards the Iranian people every day.
The field is still unregulated and it is complicated to purchase goods online, especially with regard to delivery and transaction costs.

Alternatives:

It is complex
It is intricate
It is convoluted
It is involved
It is perplexing

It is complicating

This phrase is correct and is used to indicate that something is causing complexity or difficulty in a situation.

This phrase is used to describe an action or factor that is making a situation more complex, difficult, or intricate.

Examples:

The new regulations are complicating the process of getting a visa.
Her constant interference is complicating the situation further.
The unexpected turn of events is complicating our plans.
The lack of communication is complicating the project.
His indecisiveness is complicating matters.

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It is unacceptably complicating the return of refugees, the reconstruction of the country and the holding of free and democratic elections.
Now, on the other hand, we are seeing a development in competition policy, which is attempting to take account of cohesion policy by including it in its most important regulations, but all it is really doing is complicating those regulations.
In itself, cooperation with NATO is to be welcomed, because it allows us to be operational more quickly, but it is also a complicating factor, as is evident from the talks with Turkey.
All this is complicating the system for protecting fundamental rights in Europe, and making it even less comprehensible to the citizens.
Neither do I regard this as complicating the process;I think it is part of it.
In times of economic crisis, it is particularly important to avoid complicating their legal obligations, in order to make it easier for them to operate.
It is too early and in view of the risk of complicating the whole debate on the entry into force of the Kyoto Protocol, we want first of all to establish the process and decide how to get to the second commitment period.
All this is putting tremendous pressure on their currencies and is complicating immensely the tasks of local central banks.
Although retail has performed comparatively well during the crisis, rising economic nationalism is complicating trade across the EU.
The Commission's proposed legislative programme for 2007 shows in stark relief how the lack of political leadership in many Member States is complicating matters for the EU.
I thought it was Belle complicating things.
And we've spent over 200 years complicating it.
It has dried up over the last few decades to almost nothing, vastly complicating the other problems that they also have.
It's about not complicating my life or my child's life.
And as if that wasn't enough, all of these incredibly complicating things, right, they wanted it in one shot.
I'm just asking the question, whether or not it's worth complicating everything.
The rapporteur welcomes this, because it avoids complicating a registration procedure which was simpler in some Member States.
I think that this Parliament is complicating the problems instead of simplifying matters and making them more efficient, and this may be seen in the proposal to extend Europol's powers.
I firmly believe that once membership negotiations have commenced, irrespective of the candidate country concerned, they should be continued in a positive spirit without further complicating the EU accession process or putting obstacles in its way.
whereas the Russian Federation, by issuing passports to the residents of the Tskhinvali Region/South Ossetia and Abkhazia, is complicating the process of peaceful conflict resolution in the conflict zones in Georgia,

Alternatives:

It is making things complicated
It is adding complexity
It is causing difficulty
It is making things more intricate
It is adding complications

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It is complicated vs It is complicating