Definition of "intricate" [in•tri•cate]

• Having many complexly arranged elements; elaborate. See Synonyms at elaborate. (adjective)
• Solvable or comprehensible only with painstaking effort. See Synonyms at complex. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "In case you missed the details: Camping's latest Doomsday prediction stemmed from what he described as an intricate mathematical formulation taken directly from numbers in the Bible."
• "It's true that Gene Wolfe's command of prose is very good, and his far-future Earth-in-decline is worked out in intricate and suggestive detail."
• "The old man thrust out his tongue; and, to Pool's amazement, he saw the surface of that sensitive organ, from root to tip, tattooed in intricate designs."