TORTUOUS

tortuous

(adjective) not straightforward; “his tortuous reasoning”

Byzantine, convoluted, involved, knotty, tangled, tortuous

(adjective) highly complex or intricate and occasionally devious; “the Byzantine tax structure”; “Byzantine methods for holding on to his chairmanship”; “convoluted legal language”; “convoluted reasoning”; “the plot was too involved”; “a knotty problem”; “got his way by labyrinthine maneuvering”; “Oh, what a tangled web we weave”- Sir Walter Scott; “tortuous legal procedures”; “tortuous negotiations lasting for months”

tortuous, twisting, twisty, winding, voluminous

(adjective) marked by repeated turns and bends; “a tortuous road up the mountain”; “winding roads are full of surprises”; “had to steer the car down a twisty track”

Source: WordNet® 3.1

---

Etymology

Adjective

tortuous (comparative more tortuous, superlative most tortuous)

(often, figurative) Twisted; having many turns; convoluted.

(astrology) Oblique; applied to the six signs of the zodiac (from Capricorn to Gemini) that ascend most rapidly and obliquely.

(obsolete) Injurious; tortious.

Usage notes

• This term has strongly negative connotations, perhaps transferred from the similar-sounding adjective torturous.

• Not to be confused with the legal term tortious.

Source: Wiktionary

---

Tor"tu*ous, a. Etym: [OE. tortuos, L.tortuosus, fr.tortus a twisting, winding, fr. torquere, tortum, to twist: cf. F. tortueux. See Torture.]

1. Bent in different directions; wreathed; twisted; winding; as, a tortuous train; a tortuous train; a tortuous leaf or corolla. The badger made his dark and tortuous hole on the side of every hill where the copsewood grew thick. Macaulay.

2. Fig.: Deviating from rectitude; indirect; erroneous; deceitful. That course became somewhat lesstortuous, when the battle of the Boyne had cowed the spirit of the Jakobites. Macaulay.

3. Injurious: tortious. [Obs.]

4. (Astrol.)

Definition: Oblique; -- applied to the six signs of the zodiac (from Capricorn to Gemini) which ascend most rapidly and obliquely. [Obs.] Skeat. Infortunate ascendent tortuous. Chaucer. --Tor"tu*ous*ly, adv.

– Tor"tu*ous*ness, n.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition

---

Do you know this game?

Wordscapes is a popular word game consistently in the top charts of both Google Play Store and Apple App Store. The Android version has more than 10 million installs. This guide will help you get more coins in less than two minutes of playing the game. Continue reading Wordscapes: Get More Coins