First recorded in 1350–1400.
Comes via Middle English from the Latin word tortuōsus, which derives from the verb torquēre, “to twist, bend.”
Sign up for more Word of the Day!

\r\nEXAMPLES OF TORTUOUS\r\n

The tortuous road through the mountains made for a challenging but scenic drive.
The author's writing style was known for its elegant prose and tortuous plot twists.

\r\nIt's National Poetry Month, and we’ve created a challenge that really is for everyone. Submit now!","audio":"https://static.sfdict.com/audio/T03/T0390200.mp3","definitions":[{"partofspeech":"adjective","data":"full of twists, turns, or bends; twisting, winding, or crooked."}],"examples":[],"imageUrl":"https://www.dictionary.com/e/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/tortuous_IG.png","accentColor":"#0063D7"}},"status":"succeeded"}},"meta":{"requestId":"y-d0oRUlvfjMMMW-sHnXO","requestStatus":"fulfilled"}},{"type":"fetchWordsNearby/fulfilled","payload":{"data":{"before":[{"slug":"christology","entry":"Christology"},{"slug":"christophany","entry":"Christophany"},{"slug":"christophe","entry":"Christophe"},{"slug":"christophene","entry":"christophene"},{"slug":"christopher","entry":"Christopher"}],"after":[{"slug":"christy","entry":"Christy"},{"slug":"-chroic","entry":"-chroic"},{"slug":"chrom-","entry":"chrom-"},{"slug":"chroma","entry":"chroma"},{"slug":"chromaffin","entry":"chromaffin"}]}},"meta":{"arg":{"word":"christ-s-thorn"},"requestId":"WUx593OYlZ0ipJwqOyRUL","requestStatus":"fulfilled"}},{"type":"luna/fetchExampleSentences/fulfilled","payload":{"data":{"tdb":[],"gbg":[]}},"meta":{"arg":{"word":"christ-s-thorn"},"requestId":"p7iTkZ9sisXv7xxOd7u2f","requestStatus":"fulfilled"}},{"type":"fetchDictionaryResults/fulfilled","payload":{"slugs":[]},"meta":{"arg":{"slug":"christ-s-thorn"},"requestId":"-JSo_t2T_z7zCo4qLPuY5","requestStatus":"fulfilled"}},{"type":"fetchResultsData/fulfilled","payload":{"data":{"url":"christ-s-thorn","displayForm":"Christ's-thorn","canonicalSlug":"christ-s-thorn","content":[{"source":"luna","entries":[{"id":"u3bb48a285cbafaf0.-3bc55cee.14d9e606397.-6105","type":"normal","entry":"Christ's-thorn","entrySyllabified":"Christ's-thorn","entryVariants":[],"homograph":null,"pronunciation":{"ipa":"ˈkraɪstsˌθɔrn ","spell":"krahysts-thawrn ","audio":{"audio/ogg":"https://static.sfdict.com/audio/lunawav/C04/C0456000.ogg","audio/mpeg":"https://static.sfdict.com/audio/C04/C0456000.mp3"}},"predefinitionContent":"","posBlocks":[{"definitions":[{"order":1,"type":"simple","predefinitionContent":"","postdefinitionContent":"","definition":"any of certain Old World thorny shrubs or small trees supposed to have been used for Christ's crown of thorns, as the Jerusalem thorn, Paliurus spina-christi, or the jujube, Ziziphus jujuba.","synonyms":"","antonyms":"","cites":[]}],"pos":"noun","posSupplementaryInfo":""}],"origin":"1555–65; translation of Latin spīna Chrīstī","originData":null,"supplementaryNotes":[],"variantForms":[],"variantSpellings":[],"referenceData":[],"relatedForms":[],"confusables":[]}]},{"source":"collins","entries":[{"id":"u11d1def534ea1be0.1a3ea532.11d23e8fe62.-60bd.1","type":"normal","entry":"Christ's-thorn","entrySyllabified":null,"entryVariants":"","homograph":null,"pronunciation":{"audio":null,"spell":null,"ipa":""},"predefinitionContent":"","posBlocks":[{"pos":"noun","posSupplementaryInfo":"","definitions":[{"order":1,"type":"simple","predefinitionContent":"","definition":"any of several rhamnaceous plants of SW Asia, such as Paliurus spina-christi or the jujube, that have thorny stems and are popularly believed to have been used for Christ's Crown of Thorns","postdefinitionContent":""}]}],"origin":"","supplementaryNotes":[],"variantForms":[],"referenceData":[],"relatedForms":[],"derivedForms":[]}]}],"nearbyWordOrdinal":29718,"index-rank-01":["christ's-thorn","christ's-thorn"],"index-rank-02":["christs-thorn"],"index-rank-03":[],"index-rank-04":["christ's-thorn's","christ's-thorns","christ's-thorns'"],"index-rank-05":[],"index-rank-06":["christ thorn","christ's thorn","christ'sthorn","christ-thorn","christs thorn","christs-thorn","christsthorn","christthorn"],"index-rank-07":[],"index-rank-08":[],"index-rank-09":[],"index-rank-10":[],"index-rank-11":[],"index-rank-12":[],"index-rank-13":[],"index-rank-14":[],"index-rank-15":[],"complexityScore":0.3710624598744473,"gradeLevel":"middle_school","tunaSlug":null,"isFeaturedMetaSlug":false}},"meta":{"arg":{"word":"christ-s-thorn"},"requestId":"WQf9IVtxpYt8axUm9lVFn","requestStatus":"fulfilled"}},{"type":"fetchSpellSuggestions/fulfilled","payload":{"data":{"luna":["Christ","Christo","Christy","Christie","Christo-","Chris","chrism"],"tuna":["Christ","christs","chrism","chemist","chorister","chest","crust","grist","christen","chariot","thrust","crest","curest","jurist","lyrist","purist","shrift"],"lunaWithSlug":[{"displayForm":"Christ","slug":"christ"},{"displayForm":"Christo","slug":"christo"},{"displayForm":"Christy","slug":"christy"},{"displayForm":"Christie","slug":"christie"},{"displayForm":"Christo-","slug":"christo"},{"displayForm":"Chris","slug":"chris"},{"displayForm":"chrism","slug":"chrism"}],"tunaWithSlug":[{"displayForm":"Christ","slug":"christ"},{"displayForm":"christs","slug":"christs"},{"displayForm":"chrism","slug":"chrism"},{"displayForm":"chemist","slug":"chemist"},{"displayForm":"chorister","slug":"chorister"},{"displayForm":"chest","slug":"chest"},{"displayForm":"crust","slug":"crust"},{"displayForm":"grist","slug":"grist"},{"displayForm":"christen","slug":"christen"},{"displayForm":"chariot","slug":"chariot"},{"displayForm":"thrust","slug":"thrust"},{"displayForm":"crest","slug":"crest"},{"displayForm":"curest","slug":"curest"},{"displayForm":"jurist","slug":"jurist"},{"displayForm":"lyrist","slug":"lyrist"},{"displayForm":"purist","slug":"purist"},{"displayForm":"shrift","slug":"shrift"}]}},"meta":{"arg":{"word":"christ-s-thorn"},"requestId":"KwlHxDudRcg8WPVBQvo_1","requestStatus":"fulfilled"}}]},"actionData":null,"errors":null}

Did you mean Christ?