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":"pZgVTb30dPPJyqNw51u8m","requestStatus":"fulfilled"}},{"type":"fetchWordsNearby/fulfilled","payload":{"data":{"before":[{"slug":"grenfell","entry":"Grenfell"},{"slug":"grenoble","entry":"Grenoble"},{"slug":"grenville","entry":"Grenville"},{"slug":"grenz-rays","entry":"grenz rays"},{"slug":"gresham","entry":"Gresham"}],"after":[{"slug":"gressorial","entry":"gressorial"},{"slug":"greta","entry":"Greta"},{"slug":"gretchen","entry":"Gretchen"},{"slug":"gretna","entry":"Gretna"},{"slug":"gretna-green","entry":"Gretna Green"}]}},"meta":{"arg":{"word":"gresham-s-law"},"requestId":"MTBrvEfXrXtH2hRBJSTSC","requestStatus":"fulfilled"}},{"type":"luna/fetchExampleSentences/fulfilled","payload":{"data":{"tdb":[],"gbg":[]}},"meta":{"arg":{"word":"gresham-s-law"},"requestId":"ZoqI_uQZF2HQnee0txpIm","requestStatus":"fulfilled"}},{"type":"fetchDictionaryResults/fulfilled","payload":{"slugs":[]},"meta":{"arg":{"slug":"gresham-s-law"},"requestId":"t9m4KOnO850QH7OQNDe2P","requestStatus":"fulfilled"}},{"type":"fetchResultsData/fulfilled","payload":{"data":{"url":"gresham-s-law","displayForm":"Gresham's law","canonicalSlug":"gresham-s-law","content":[{"source":"luna","entries":[{"id":"u3bb48a285cbafaf0.-3bc55cee.14d9e685998.484e","type":"normal","entry":"Gresham's law","entrySyllabified":"Gresham's law","entryVariants":[],"homograph":null,"pronunciation":null,"predefinitionContent":"","posBlocks":[{"definitions":[{"order":1,"type":"simple","predefinitionContent":"","postdefinitionContent":"","definition":"the tendency of the inferior of two forms of currency to circulate more freely than, or to the exclusion of, the superior, because of the hoarding of the latter.","synonyms":"","antonyms":"","cites":[]}],"pos":"noun","posSupplementaryInfo":"Economics."}],"origin":"First recorded in 1855–60; named after Sir T. Gresham","originData":null,"supplementaryNotes":[],"variantForms":[],"variantSpellings":[],"referenceData":[],"relatedForms":[],"confusables":[]}]},{"source":"collins","entries":[{"id":"ac9da74bf.6bfb.1014.b87b.c2803370a23a.1","type":"normal","entry":"Gresham's law","entrySyllabified":null,"entryVariants":"Gresham's theorem","homograph":null,"pronunciation":{"audio":null,"spell":null,"ipa":""},"predefinitionContent":"","posBlocks":[{"pos":"noun","posSupplementaryInfo":"","definitions":[{"order":1,"type":"simple","predefinitionContent":"","definition":"the economic hypothesis that bad money drives good money out of circulation; the superior currency will tend to be hoarded and the inferior will thus dominate the circulation","postdefinitionContent":""}]}],"origin":"C16: named after Sir Thomas Gresham","supplementaryNotes":[],"variantForms":[],"referenceData":[],"relatedForms":[],"derivedForms":[]}]},{"source":"cultural","entries":[{"id":"greshamslaw","type":"normal","entry":"Gresham's law","entrySyllabified":null,"entryVariants":[],"homograph":0,"pronunciation":{"audio":null,"spell":["(gresh-uhmz)"],"ipa":null},"predefinitionContent":null,"contentBlocks":[{"title":null,"content":[{"type":"paragraph","content":"An economic principle proposed by an English financier, Sir Thomas Gresham, that bad money will drive good money out of circulation. For example, if the U.S. government minted silver dollars and then, at a later date, began to mint dollar coins out of cheaper metals, the public would hoard the silver dollars (possibly for later sale at higher prices) rather than use them as a medium of exchange: silver dollars would stop circulating."}]}],"supplementaryNotes":[]}]}],"nearbyWordOrdinal":67198,"index-rank-01":["gresham's law","gresham's law","gresham's law"],"index-rank-02":["greshams law","greshams law"],"index-rank-03":[],"index-rank-04":["gresham's law's","gresham's laws","gresham's laws'"],"index-rank-05":[],"index-rank-06":["gresham law","greshams law"],"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":[],"categoryId":"435","complexityScore":0.15025133236563762,"gradeLevel":"high_school","tunaSlug":null,"isFeaturedMetaSlug":false}},"meta":{"arg":{"word":"gresham-s-law"},"requestId":"6CHfu-MdOYr_oTFlFlaSN","requestStatus":"fulfilled"}},{"type":"fetchSpellSuggestions/fulfilled","payload":{"data":{"luna":["Gresham","Grisham"],"tuna":["gram","cream","Grecian","grama","gruesome","creamy","garish","cram","crash","crush","groom","garishly","greek me","creche","grammar","grow warm","crusher","crashed","crushed","gracias","grow dim"],"lunaWithSlug":[{"displayForm":"Gresham","slug":"gresham"},{"displayForm":"Grisham","slug":"grisham"}],"tunaWithSlug":[{"displayForm":"gram","slug":"gram"},{"displayForm":"cream","slug":"cream"},{"displayForm":"Grecian","slug":"grecian"},{"displayForm":"grama","slug":"grama"},{"displayForm":"gruesome","slug":"gruesome"},{"displayForm":"creamy","slug":"creamy"},{"displayForm":"garish","slug":"garish"},{"displayForm":"cram","slug":"cram"},{"displayForm":"crash","slug":"crash"},{"displayForm":"crush","slug":"crush"},{"displayForm":"groom","slug":"groom"},{"displayForm":"garishly","slug":"garishly"},{"displayForm":"greek me","slug":"greek%20me"},{"displayForm":"creche","slug":"creche"},{"displayForm":"grammar","slug":"grammar"},{"displayForm":"grow warm","slug":"grow%20warm"},{"displayForm":"crusher","slug":"crusher"},{"displayForm":"crashed","slug":"crashed"},{"displayForm":"crushed","slug":"crushed"},{"displayForm":"gracias","slug":"gracias"},{"displayForm":"grow dim","slug":"grow%20dim"}]}},"meta":{"arg":{"word":"gresham-s-law"},"requestId":"Fbj24pXJVD-4PVMVt9bNb","requestStatus":"fulfilled"}}]},"actionData":null,"errors":null}

Did you mean Gresham?