# complicity

/kəmˈpɫɪsəti/ (US) · /kəmplˈɪsɪti/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/complicity
Updated: 2026-08-27

## Senses

### 1. involvement in wrongdoing

noun · CEFR C1 · Formal

the act of helping someone with a crime or a bad plan.

For teachers: involvement as an accomplice or partner in a crime or other wrongdoing. Often used with the preposition 'in'.

- The manager was fired for his complicity in the theft of company funds.
- The investigation revealed a deep level of complicity among the local authorities, who had knowingly ignored the illegal dumping for years.

Usage: Commonly follows the pattern 'complicity in [an act]' or 'complicity with [a person]'.

### 2. complexity

noun · CEFR C2 · Archaic

an old word for something that is very complicated or has many parts.

For teachers: the state of being complex or intricate. This sense is now largely obsolete in modern English.

- The old book described the complicity of the machine's internal gears.
- The philosopher examined the complicity of human emotions, though modern writers would now use the term complexity instead.

Teaching tip: This sense is archaic; learners should use 'complexity' in all modern contexts to avoid being misunderstood as referring to a crime.

## Examples

- His silence was seen as complicity in the crime.
- The investigation aimed to determine the extent of the manager's complicity in the accounting fraud that ruined the firm.
- The documentary explores the public's complicity in the environmental crisis, arguing that consumer habits provide the necessary fuel for corporate negligence.

---

From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.