complex sentence

Noun

complex sentence (plural complex sentences)

1. A sentence that contains an independent clause as well as one or more dependent clauses, such as a relative clause, an adverbial clause, or a noun clause.
2. A sentence that contains multiple clauses, whether independent (coordinated) or dependent (subordinated); compound or complex sentence.
   • Sentences are either simple or complex. […] A complex sentence consists of two or more members, as, “Alexander, when he had conquered the world, is said to have wept, because there were not other worlds to subdue.” […] When a member of a complex sentence is simple, it is called indifferently a...1830, Alexander Crombie, Etymology and Syntax of the English Language, page 226
   • Complex sentences are traditionally divided into two basic types: (i) sentences including co-ordinate clauses, and (ii) sentences including subordinate clauses.2004, Holger Diessel, The Acquisition of Complex Sentences, page 42

   Synonyms:

   composite sentence