Complexion? I looked up this word and found three definitions: 1. The natural color, texture, and appearance of the skin, especially of the face. 2. General character, aspect, or appearance: findings

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Complexion? I looked up this word and found three definitions: 1. The natural color, texture, and appearance of the skin, especially of the face. 2. General character, aspect, or appearance: findings that will alter the complexion of the problem. 3. A viewpoint, inclination, or attitude: a conservative political complexion. I knew the first definition, but didn't know about the second and the third. Does the second one means like "how a problem UNFOLDS"? What is the difference between the third definition of the word complexion and "a viewpoint/inclination/ attitude"?

Jun 23, 2018 2:09 AM

Answers · 5

No， “complexion” does not mean how a problem “unfolds.” A better way to think about the word is as referring to a “complex” of characteristics, where “complex” means a group or set. The “complexion” of a problem means the set of all the characteristics of the problem that give the problem its overall character. The third definition of “complexion” is not a common use, but you can think of it the same way: a group or set of viewpoints that characterizes a person as, for example, conservative or liberal, modern or old-fashioned, etc.

June 23, 2018

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