Complex vs. Hard — What's the Difference?

Consisting of interconnected or interwoven parts; composite

Solid, firm, and rigid; not easily broken, bent, or pierced

Composed of two or more units

Done with a great deal of force or strength

Difficult to understand for being intricate or involved; complicated

Requiring a great deal of endurance or effort

Consisting of at least one bound form. Used of a word.

(of information) reliable, especially because based on something true or substantiated

Consisting of an independent clause and at least one other independent or dependent clause. Used of a sentence.

Strongly alcoholic; denoting a spirit rather than beer or wine.

A whole composed of interconnected or interwoven parts

(of water) containing relatively high concentrations of dissolved calcium and magnesium salts, which make lathering difficult

A building or group of buildings used for a single purpose

(of the penis, clitoris, or nipples) erect.

In psychoanalysis, a group of related, often repressed ideas and impulses that compel characteristic or habitual patterns of thought, feelings, and behavior.

(of a consonant) pronounced as a velar plosive (as c in cat, g in go).

An exaggerated or obsessive concern or fear

With a great deal of effort

(Medicine) The combination of factors, symptoms, or signs of a disease or disorder that forms a syndrome.

So as to be solid or firm

Made up of multiple parts; composite; not simple.

To the fullest extent possible

Not simple, easy, or straightforward; complicated.

A road leading down across a foreshore.

Having the form a + bi, where a and b are real numbers and i is (by definition) the imaginary square root of −1.

Resistant to pressure; not readily penetrated; firm or solid

Whose range is a subset of the complex numbers.

Well protected from an attack, as by aerial bombardment

Whose coefficients are complex numbers; defined over the field of complex numbers.

Requiring great effort or endurance

(geometry) A curve, polygon or other figure that crosses or intersects itself.

Performed with or marked by great diligence or energy

A problem. en

Difficult to resolve, accomplish, or finish

A network of interconnected systems.

Difficult to understand or impart

A collection of buildings with a common purpose, such as a university or military base.

Proceeding or performing with force, vigor, or persistence; assiduous

An assemblage of related things; a collection.

Intense in force or degree

An organized cluster of thunderstorms.

Inclement or severe

A cluster of wildfires burning in the same vicinity.

Stern, strict, or demanding

(taxonomy) A group of closely related species, often distinguished only with difficulty by traditional morphological methods.

Lacking compassion or sympathy; callous

(psychoanalysis) An abnormal mental condition caused by repressed emotions.

Difficult to endure; causing hardship or suffering

A vehement, often excessive psychological dislike or fear of a particular thing.

Oppressive or unjust in nature or effect

(chemistry) A structure consisting of a central atom or molecule weakly connected to surrounding atoms or molecules, as for example coordination complexes in inorganic chemistry and protein complexes in biochemistry.

Harsh or severe in effect or intention

(math) A complex number.

Marked by stubborn refusal to compromise or yield; uncompromising

(linguistics) A multimorphemic word, one with several parts, one with affixes.

Bitter or resentful

To form a complex with another substance

Showing disapproval, bitterness, or resentment

(transitive) To complicate.

Causing damage or premature wear

Composed of two or more parts; composite; not simple; as, a complex being; a complex idea.

Bad; adverse

Involving many parts; complicated; intricate.

Real and unassailable

Assemblage of related things; collection; complication.

Definite; firm

A conceptual whole made up of complicated and related parts;

Free from illusion or sentimentality; practical or realistic

A compound described in terms of the central atom to which other atoms are bound or coordinated

Using or based on data that are readily quantified or verified

(psychoanalysis) a combination of emotions and impulses that have been rejected from awareness but still influence a person's behavior

Marked by sharp delineation or contrast

A whole structure (as a building) made up of interconnected or related structures

Lacking in shade; undiminished

Complicated in structure; consisting of interconnected parts;

Hardcore.

Being a turn in a specific direction at an angle more acute than other possible routes.

Metallic, as opposed to paper. Used of currency.

Backed by bullion rather than by credit. Used of currency.

High and stable. Used of prices.

Durable; lasting

Written or printed rather than stored in electronic media

Erect; tumid. Used of a penis.

Having high alcoholic content; intoxicating

Rendered alcoholic by fermentation; fermented

Containing dissolved salts that interfere with the lathering action of soap or other cleansing agents. Used of water.

(Linguistics) Velar, as in c in cake or g in log, as opposed to palatal or soft.

(Physics) Of relatively high energy; penetrating

High in gluten content

(Chemistry) Resistant to biodegradation

Extremely or dangerously addictive. Used of certain illegal drugs, such as heroin.

With strenuous effort; intently

With great force, vigor, or energy

In such a way as to cause great damage or hardship

With great distress, grief, or bitterness

Firmly; securely

Toward or into a solid condition

Near in space or time; close

(Nautical) Completely; fully

(of material or fluid) Having a severe property; presenting difficulty.

Resistant to pressure.

(of drink or drugs) Strong.

(of a normally nonalcoholic drink) Containing alcohol.

(of water) High in dissolved chemical salts, especially those of calcium.

Having the capability of being a permanent magnet by being a material with high magnetic coercivity (compare soft).

Having a high energy (high frequency; short wavelength).

Made up of parallel rays, producing clearly defined shadows.

(personal or social) Having a severe property; presenting difficulty.

Difficult or requiring a lot of effort to do, understand, experience, or deal with.

Demanding a lot of effort to endure.

Severe, harsh, unfriendly, brutal.

(dated) Difficult to resist or control; powerful.

(military) Hardened; having unusually strong defences.

(slang) Tough and muscular.

Unquestionable, unequivocal.

(of a road intersection) Having a comparatively larger or a ninety-degree angle.

Sexually aroused; having an erect penis.

(bodybuilding) Having muscles that are tightened as a result of intense, regular exercise.

Fortis.

Plosive.

Unvoiced.

(Slavic phonology) Velarized or plain, rather than palatalized.

(arts) Having a severe property; presenting a barrier to enjoyment.

Rigid in the drawing or distribution of the figures; formal; lacking grace of composition.

Having disagreeable and abrupt contrasts in colour or shading.

(uncomparable)

In a physical form, not digital.

Using a manual or physical process, not by means of a software command.

(politics) Far, extreme.

Of silk: not having had the natural gum boiled off.

(finance) Of a market: having more demand than supply; being a seller's market.

(manner) With much force or effort.

(manner) With difficulty.

(obsolete) So as to raise difficulties.

(manner) Compactly.

Near, close.

A firm or paved beach or slope convenient for hauling vessels out of the water.

A tyre whose compound is softer than superhards, and harder than mediums.

Crack cocaine.

Hard labor.

Not easily penetrated, cut, or separated into parts; not yielding to pressure; firm; solid; compact; - applied to material bodies, and opposed to soft; as, hard wood; hard flesh; a hard apple.

Difficult, mentally or judicially; not easily apprehended, decided, or resolved; as a hard problem.

Difficult to accomplish; full of obstacles; laborious; fatiguing; arduous; as, a hard task; a disease hard to cure.

Difficult to resist or control; powerful.

Difficult to bear or endure; not easy to put up with or consent to; hence, severe; rigorous; oppressive; distressing; unjust; grasping; as, a hard lot; hard times; hard fare; a hard winter; hard conditions or terms.

Difficult to please or influence; stern; unyielding; obdurate; unsympathetic; unfeeling; cruel; as, a hard master; a hard heart; hard words; a hard character.

Not easy or agreeable to the taste; harsh; stiff; rigid; ungraceful; repelling; as, a hard style.

Rough; acid; sour, as liquors; as, hard cider.

Abrupt or explosive in utterance; not aspirated, sibilated, or pronounced with a gradual change of the organs from one position to another; - said of certain consonants, as c in came, and g in go, as distinguished from the same letters in center, general, etc.

Wanting softness or smoothness of utterance; harsh; as, a hard tone.

Rigid in the drawing or distribution of the figures; formal; lacking grace of composition.

With pressure; with urgency; hence, diligently; earnestly.

With difficulty; as, the vehicle moves hard.

Uneasily; vexatiously; slowly.

So as to raise difficulties.

With tension or strain of the powers; violently; with force; tempestuously; vehemently; vigorously; energetically; as, to press, to blow, to rain hard; hence, rapidly; nimbly; as, to run hard.

Close or near.

To harden; to make hard.

A ford or passage across a river or swamp.

Not easy; requiring great physical or mental effort to accomplish or comprehend or endure;

Metaphorically hard;

Not yielding to pressure or easily penetrated;

Very strong or vigorous;

Characterized by toilsome effort to the point of exhaustion; especially physical effort;

Of speech sounds

Of a drinker or drinking; indulging intemperately;

Having undergone fermentation;

Having a high alcoholic content;

Unfortunate or hard to bear;

Dried out;

With effort or force or vigor;

With firmness;

Earnestly or intently;

Causing great damage or hardship;

Slowly and with difficulty;

Indulging excessively;

Into a solid condition;

Very near or close in space or time;

With pain or distress or bitterness;

To the full extent possible; all the way;