tortuous

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. adjective highly complex or intricate and occasionally devious; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; - Sir Walter Scott
  2. adjective marked by repeated turns and bends
  3. adjective not straightforward

Etymology

From Middle English tortuous, tortuose, from Anglo-Norman and Old French tortuos, from Latin tortuōsus, from tortus (“a twisting, winding”).

In classic literature

Synonyms

Byzantine, convoluted, involved, knotty, tangled

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