51Թ

Advertisement

Advertisement

View synonyms for

tortuous

[tawr-choo-uhs]

adjective

  1. full of twists, turns, or bends; twisting, winding, or crooked.

    a tortuous path.

    Synonyms: , ,
  2. not direct or straightforward, as in procedure or speech; circuitous.

    tortuous negotiations lasting for months.

    Synonyms: , ,
  3. deceitfully indirect or morally crooked, as proceedings, methods, or policy; devious.



tortuous

/ ˈɔːʊə /

adjective

  1. twisted or winding

    a tortuous road

  2. devious or cunning

    a tortuous mind

  3. intricate

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Discover More

Confusables Note

Discover More

Other 51Թ Forms

  • tortuously adverb
  • tortuousness noun
  • nontortuous adjective
  • nontortuously adverb
  • untortuous adjective
  • untortuously adverb
  • untortuousness noun
  • ˈٴǰٳܴdzܲ adverb
  • ˈٴǰٳܴdzܲԱ noun
Discover More

51Թ History and Origins

Origin of tortuous1

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin ٴǰٳōܲ, equivalent to tortu(s) “a twisting” ( ٴǰŧ “to twist, bend” + -tus suffix of verbal action) + -ōܲ adjective suffix; -ous
Discover More

Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

But Berrada knows where the major external focus will be, in particular on coach Ruben Amorim, who had such a tortuous introduction to life at United following his arrival from Sporting in November.

From

Then tortuous, unending months and years of uncertainty.

From

The Old Trafford side's tortuous campaign will draw to a close against Unai Emery's Champions League qualification hopefuls on Sunday.

From

"It was tortuous, it was not what we all expected. We were hoping for a triumphant run through the last round," he said.

From

In evidence, executive chairman of the nearby Hippodrome, Simon Thomas, said the noise was "tortuous" because of repeated sets and what the judge called "awful renditions".

From

Advertisement

Discover More

When To Use

What’s the difference between tortuous and torturous?

Tortuous means winding or full of twists and turns, as in a tortuous path, but it can also be used in a more figurative way to mean indirect, convoluted, or even devious. Torturous is used to describe things that are painful or that cause suffering, as if they were a form of torture.Both words are adjectives, and their spellings are separated by only one letter—making their pronunciations very similar. Making things even more confusing is that there are some situations in which it could make sense to use either word. For example, a piece of writing that’s extremely hard to follow because of how unorganized it is could be described as both tortuous (because it’s so meandering) and torturous (because it’s like torture to read it).The best way to remember the difference is that torturous has a second r in it, just like its base word, torture. If you want to use the word tortuous in a piece of writing and you’re worried it might be confusing, you might be right! Luckily, there are plenty of alternative words that can be used in the same way, depending on what you mean, such as winding, meandering, circuitous, indirect, and convoluted.Here’s an example of tortuous and torturous used correctly in the same sentence.Example: Trying to follow the tortuous arguments in the meandering paper was torturous. Want to learn more? Read the full breakdown of the difference between tortuous and torturous.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement


tortuositytorture