When something is unnecessarily complex, it is _____.
Example: The statement "That solution is no longer unnecessary" is ______, couldn't we simply say "That solution is now necessary"?
When something is unnecessarily complex, it is _____.
Example: The statement "That solution is no longer unnecessary" is ______, couldn't we simply say "That solution is now necessary"?
Your particular example is not only overly complicated, but especially confusing as a result. I would therefore use convoluted:
1 (Especially of an argument, story, or sentence) extremely complex and difficult to follow —Oxford Dictionaries
Edited to add:
Note that the word's original meaning is literally "twisted" or "coiled", but it is now commonly used (at least in the US) metaphorically to mean confusingly complicated, as attested in the Oxford definition.
I think the connotation of twisting back on itself is quite useful here. Not only does the double negative cause a "reversal" in meaning, but it is likely to make the reader go back and re-read the end of the sentence so that the reader's eyes trace a Z-shaped path across the sentence: it is both figuratively and physically contorted.
A similar word is tortuous, which also has its roots in physical twists and turns (compare contort) but which is now often used figuratively. I'm more reluctant to recommend tortuous as I think it's easily confused with either torturous or tortious, but it would otherwise also work here.
As @Jim said in comments, the obvious word seems to be overcomplicated
ODO:
overcomplicated: more complicated than necessary
A Rube Goldberg or Goldbergian.
1.
having a fantastically complicated, improvised appearance:
a Rube Goldberg arrangement of flasks and test tubes.
2.
deviously complex and impractical:
a Goldbergian scheme for reducing taxes.
You could use over-engineered: unnecessarily complicated
Ferraris are over-engineered
or bloated: excessive in size or amount.
the company trimmed its bloated labor force
I think convoluted would work well in this case.
Oxford Dictionaries provides these definitions (for American English)...
Similar definitions are available from Dictionary.com, Merriam-Webster, and Wiktionary.
In addition, the word convolute (and its conjugations) can be used in at least three different ways.
Heath Robinson is typically used for an over-complex machine or design, but I think you could also use it for a describing a 'convoluted phrase'.
E.g. The statement "That solution is no longer unnecessary" is a Heath Robinson, couldn't we simply say "That solution is now necessary"?
Possible variants: [Heath Robinson|Heath Robinson expression|Heath Robinson-esque]
a Heath Robinson machine or method is funny and clever but much too complicated for whatever job it is intended to perform — macmillandictionary.com
The word you are looking for is cruft.
From ESR’s Jargon File:
- n. Excess; superfluous junk; used esp. of redundant or superseded code.
From Oxford Dictionaries Online:
Computing, informal
Badly designed, unnecessarily complicated, or unwanted code or software:
‘this removes all unnecessary cruft from Word documents saved as HTML’
If you want an adjective not a noun, the corresponding derived term is crufty.
Superfluous (a) :
1.) being more than is sufficient or required; excessive.
2.) unnecessary or needless.
3.) Obsolete. possessing or spending more than enough or necessary; extravagant.
How about
Obscure:
Obscure: not clearly expressed or easily understood.
Or
Obfuscated:
Obfuscated: something that has been purposefully made to be more difficult to understand or decode.
I'd be inclined to use kludgy.
Though the meaning of kludge has shifted somewhat over the decades (and was never particularly clear in the first place), a former coworker who was born and raised in Holland explained to me (ca 1976) that the Dutch word "kluge" (I think that's how he spelled it -- he pronounced it "clue-gay") had the idiomatic meaning "deviously clever" in Dutch.
While most etymologies tend to derive the term from a similar German word, I've always considered this Dutch origin to express the meaning most clearly -- something that's a little "too clever for its own good".
How about prolix?
It refers more to wordiness than complexity, but it fits and is a nice Scrabble word.
Another alternative could be:
to make something seem larger, more important, better, or worse than it really is.
Example:
"That solution is no longer unnecessary" is exaggerated, couldn't we simply say "That solution is now necessary"?