Need another word that means the same as “tortuous”? Find 35 synonyms and 30 related words for “tortuous” in this overview.
The synonyms of “Tortuous” are: byzantine, convoluted, involved, knotty, tangled, twisting, twisty, voluminous, winding, curving, curvy, sinuous, undulating, coiling, meandering, serpentine, snaky, zigzag, spiralling, circuitous, rambling, wandering, indirect, deviating, devious, labyrinthine, mazy, roundabout, complicated, complex, confusing, lengthy, overlong, verbose, difficult to follow
According to the Oxford Dictionary of English, “tortuous” as an adjective can have the following definitions:
| byzantine | Highly complex or intricate and occasionally devious. |
| circuitous | Deviating from a straight course. A circuitous line of reasoning. |
| coiling | In the shape of a coil. |
| complex | Complicated in structure; consisting of interconnected parts. The situation is more complex than it appears. |
| complicated | Difficult to analyze or understand. A complicated stereo system. |
| confusing | Lacking clarity of meaning; causing confusion or perplexity. Being hospitalized can be confusing and distressing for a small child. |
| convoluted | Intricately folded, twisted, or coiled. Convoluted reasoning. |
| curving | Having or marked by a curve or smoothly rounded bend. |
| curvy | (of a woman’s body) having a large bosom and pleasing curves. Curvy lines. |
| deviating | Markedly different from an accepted norm. |
| devious | Showing a skilful use of underhand tactics to achieve goals. He s as devious as a politician needs to be. |
| difficult to follow | Hard to control. |
| indirect | Descended from a common ancestor but through different lines. Reflection from the ceiling provided a soft indirect light. |
| involved | Emotionally involved. The plot was too involved. |
| knotty | Full of knots. A knotty legal problem. |
| labyrinthine | Relating to or affecting or originating in the inner ear. A labyrinthine network of tortuous footpaths. |
| lengthy | (especially in reference to time) of considerable or unusual length, especially so as to be tedious. Lengthy delays. |
| mazy | Like a maze; labyrinthine. The mazy old fishing quarter. |
| meandering | Proceeding in a convoluted or undirected fashion. A brilliant sample of meandering discourse. |
| overlong | Too long. An overlong sermon. |
| rambling | Spreading out in different directions or distributed irregularly. A rambling speech about this and that. |
| roundabout | Not following a short direct route; circuitous. A roundabout route avoided rush hour traffic. |
| serpentine | Of or like a serpent or snake. A serpentine wall. |
| sinuous | Gracefully thin and bending and moving with ease. The sinuous grace of a cat. |
| snaky | Of the supposed nature of a snake in showing coldness, venom, or cunning. Snaky ridges in the sand. |
| spiralling | Having or forming a spiral shape. He needed to relax after the spiralling tensions of the day. |
| tangled | In a confused mass. Pushed back her tangled hair. |
| twisting | Marked by repeated turns and bends. |
| twisty | Marked by repeated turns and bends. A twisty country road. |
| undulating | Having a smoothly rising and falling form or outline. The undulating country lanes of Northern Ireland. |
| verbose | Using or containing too many words. Much academic language is obscure and verbose. |
| voluminous | Large in number or quantity (especially of discourse. A subject of voluminous legislation. |
| wandering | Travelling aimlessly from place to place; itinerant. Wandering tribes. |
| winding | Of a path e.g. Winding roads are full of surprises. |
| zigzag | Having the form of a zigzag veering alternately to right and left. When chased by a predator some animals take a zigzag course. |
| abstruse | Difficult to penetrate; incomprehensible to one of ordinary understanding or knowledge. An abstruse philosophical inquiry. |
| backhanded | Roundabout or ambiguous. A backhanded pass. |
| circuitous | (of a route or journey) longer than the most direct way. A circuitous line of reasoning. |
| complex | Make an atom or compound form a complex with another. A complex mass of diverse laws and customs. |
| complexity | The state or quality of being intricate or complicated. He enjoyed the complexity of modern computers. |
| complicated | Consisting of many interconnecting parts or elements; intricate. A complicated problem. |
| convoluted | Rolled longitudinally upon itself. Convoluted reasoning. |
| convolution | A thing that is complex and difficult to follow. The convolutions of farm policy. |
| crooked | Annoyed; exasperated. A dress with a crooked hemline. |
| discursive | Digressing from subject to subject. A rambling discursive book. |
| esoterica | Secrets known only to an initiated minority. A professor of such esoterica as angelology and comparative shamanism. |
| gnarled | Used of old persons or old trees; covered with knobs or knots. The gnarled old oak tree. |
| indirect | Extended senses; not direct in manner or language or behavior or action. Doubtless they had some indirect purpose in mind. |
| intricacy | The quality of being intricate. The intricacy of the procedure. |
| intricate | Very complicated or detailed. Intricate lacework. |
| involution | The process of raising a quantity to some assigned power. Periods of artistic involution. |
| knotty | Tangled in knots or snarls. A knotty legal problem. |
| labyrinth | A complex structure in the inner ear which contains the organs of hearing and balance It consists of bony cavities the bony labyrinth filled with fluid and lined with sensitive membranes the membranous labyrinth. You lose yourself in a labyrinth of little streets. |
| labyrinthine | (of a network) like a labyrinth; irregular and twisting. A labyrinthine network of tortuous footpaths. |
| maze | A confusing mass of information. The house has a maze and a walled Italian garden. |
| meander | An aimless amble on a winding course. Kids meandered in and out. |
| perplexity | An entangled state. She paused in perplexity. |
| priggish | Self-righteously moralistic and superior. A priggish little pedant. |
| problematic | Constituting or presenting a problem. The situation was problematic for teachers. |
| ravel | Unravel fray. Can you unravel the mystery. |
| serpentine | Complex, cunning, or treacherous. His charm was too subtle and serpentine for me. |
| sinuosity | Having curves. He hated the sinuosity of mountain roads. |
| sinuous | Gracefully thin and bending and moving with ease. The river follows a sinuous trail through the dale. |
| tangled | Twisted together untidily; matted. His hair was a tangled mess. |
| winding | The act of winding or twisting. Our bedroom was at the top of a winding staircase. |
The synonyms and related words of "Brag" are: blow, bluster, boast, gas, gasconade, shoot a…
The synonyms and related words of "Pierce" are: thrust, make a hole in, penetrate, puncture,…
The synonyms and related words of "Weary" are: aweary, tired, tired out, exhausted, fatigued, overtired,…
The synonyms and related words of "Kick" are: complain, kvetch, plain, quetch, sound off, give…
The synonyms and related words of "Useless" are: futile, pointless, purposeless, impractical, vain, in vain,…
Want to describe something with adjectives that start with 'J'? Though they are not numerous,…