tortuous

tor·tu·ous  (tôrch-s)

adj.

1. Having or marked by repeated turns or bends; winding or twisting: a tortuous road through the mountains.

2. Not straightforward; circuitous; devious: a tortuous plot; tortuous reasoning.

3. Highly involved; complex: tortuous legal procedures.

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[Middle English, from Anglo-Norman, from Latin tortusus, from tortus, a twisting, from past participle of torqure, to twist; see terk^w- in Indo-European roots.]

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tortu·ous·ly adv.

tortu·ous·ness n.

Usage Note: Although tortuous and torturous both come from the Latin word torqure, "to twist," their primary meanings are distinct. Tortuous means "twisting" (a tortuous road) or by extension "complex" or "devious." Torturous refers primarily to torture and the pain associated with it. However, torturous also can be used in the sense of "twisted" or "strained," and tortured is an even stronger synonym: tortured reasoning.

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tortuous

Adjective

1. twisted or winding: a tortuous route

2. devious or cunning: months of tortuous negotiations

USAGE: See at torture.

Thesaurus

Adj.	1.	tortuous - 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" convoluted, tangled, Byzantine, knotty, involved complex - complicated in structure; consisting of interconnected parts; "a complex set of variations based on a simple folk melody"; "a complex mass of diverse laws and customs"
	2.	tortuous - 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" twisting, twisty, winding, voluminous crooked - having or marked by bends or angles; not straight or aligned; "crooked country roads"; "crooked teeth"
	3.	tortuous - not straightforward; "his tortuous reasoning" indirect - extended senses; not direct in manner or language or behavior or action; "making indirect but legitimate inquiries"; "an indirect insult"; "doubtless they had some indirect purpose in mind"; "though his methods are indirect they are not dishonest"; "known as a shady indirect fellow"

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tortuous

adjective 1. winding, twisting, meandering, bent, twisted, curved, crooked, indirect, convoluted, serpentine, zigzag, sinuous, circuitous, twisty, mazy

adjective 2. complicated, involved, misleading, tricky, indirect, ambiguous, roundabout, deceptive, devious, convoluted, mazy << OPPOSITE straightforward

USAGE The adjective tortuous is sometimes confused with torturous. A tortuous road is one that winds or twists, while a torturous experience is one that involves pain, suffering, or discomfort.

Translations

tortuous [ˈtɔːtjuəs] adj → tortuoso

tortuous [ˈtɔːtjuəs] adj → tortueux/euse

tortuous [ˈtɔːtjuəs] adj [path] → gewunden; [argument, mind] → umständlich

tortuous [ˈtɔːtjuəs] adj → tortuoso/a