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tortuous

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The definition of tortuous refers to something very complex and difficult to follow, or something full of twists and turns.

(adjective)

An example of tortuous is an argument that is complex and challenging to follow.

See tortuous in Webster's New World College Dictionary

adjective

full of twists, turns, curves, or windings; winding; crooked
not straightforward; devious; specif., deceitful or tricky

Origin: ME < Anglo-Fr < L tortuosus < tortus: see tort

Related Forms:

tortuously adverb
tortuousness noun

See tortuous in American Heritage Dictionary 4

adjective

Having or marked by repeated turns or bends; winding or twisting: a tortuous road through the mountains.
Not straightforward; circuitous; devious: a tortuous plot; tortuous reasoning.
Highly involved; complex: tortuous legal procedures.

Origin:

Origin: Middle English

Origin: , from Anglo-Norman

Origin: , from Latin tortuōsus

Origin: , from tortus, a twisting

Origin: , from past participle of torquēre, to twist; see terk^w- in Indo-European roots

Related Forms:

torˈtu·ous·ly adverb

torˈtu·ous·ness noun

Usage Note: Although tortuous and torturous both come from the Latin word torquēre, “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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