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":"s3B96tI4ugX9Do8bIBdLu","requestStatus":"fulfilled"}},{"type":"fetchWordsNearby/fulfilled","payload":{"data":{"before":[{"slug":"schaerbeek","entry":"Schaerbeek"},{"slug":"schaerf","entry":"Schaerf"},{"slug":"schafer-method","entry":"Schafer method"},{"slug":"schaffhausen","entry":"Schaffhausen"},{"slug":"schafskopf","entry":"schafskopf"}],"after":[{"slug":"schama","entry":"Schama"},{"slug":"schappe","entry":"schappe"},{"slug":"schappe-silk","entry":"schappe silk"},{"slug":"scharnhorst","entry":"Scharnhorst"},{"slug":"scharwenka","entry":"Scharwenka"}]}},"meta":{"arg":{"word":"schally"},"requestId":"wq0kD0LePRYohOhFCZNpw","requestStatus":"fulfilled"}},{"type":"luna/fetchExampleSentences/fulfilled","payload":{"data":{"tdb":[],"gbg":[]}},"meta":{"arg":{"word":"schally"},"requestId":"DF2kfpQwxYtK6RtQFWsLY","requestStatus":"fulfilled"}},{"type":"fetchDictionaryResults/fulfilled","payload":{"slugs":[{"entries":[{"__typename":"Entry","audioPronunciations":[{"mpeg":"https://nonprod-audio.dictionary.com/S01/S0163700/S0163700.mp3"}],"confusableNotes":[],"genderNotes":[],"grammarNotes":[],"headword":{"displayForm":"Schally","slug":"schally"},"idioms":[],"orderKey":99999010,"ordinal":10,"origin":null,"partOfSpeechBlock":[{"definitions":[{"antonymsConnection":{"edges":[]},"definitionSetChunks":"[{\"text\": \"Andrew Victor,\", \"type\": \"name\"}, {\"text\": \"born 1926,\", \"type\": \"date\"}, {\"type\": \"def\", \"children\": [{\"text\": \"U.S. physiologist, born in Poland: Nobel Prize 1977.\", \"type\": \"text\"}]}]","examples":[],"ordinal":1,"subdefinitions":[],"synonymsConnection":{"edges":[]}}],"inflectionSets":[],"labelSet":null,"ordinal":1,"partOfSpeech":"noun"}],"pronunciationNotes":[],"pronunciationSet":{"pronunciationSetChunk":"{\"type\": \"pronunciation_set\", \"pointsTo\": \"u3bb48a285cbafaf0.-3bc55cee.14d9e760f7d.7fd8\", \"pronunciationGroupChunks\": [{\"type\": \"pronunciation_group\", \"pointsTo\": \"u3bb48a285cbafaf0.-3bc55cee.14d9e760f7d.7fd9\", \"ipaChunks\": [{\"text\": \"\\u02c8\\u0283\\u00e6l i\", \"type\": \"text\", \"pointsTo\": \"u3bb48a285cbafaf0.-3bc55cee.14d9e760f7d.7fda\"}], \"spellChunks\": [{\"text\": \"shal\", \"type\": \"bold\", \"pointsTo\": \"u3bb48a285cbafaf0.-3bc55cee.14d9e760f7d.7fdc\"}, {\"text\": \"-ee\", \"type\": \"text\"}]}]}"},"relatedFormSets":[],"sensitiveNotes":[],"spellingNotes":[],"synonymStudy":[],"usageAlerts":[],"usageNotes":[],"variants":[],"verbPhrases":[]}],"url":"schally"}]},"meta":{"arg":{"slug":"schally"},"requestId":"H8M5xLA1tm_VbyfWx1DF9","requestStatus":"fulfilled"}},{"type":"fetchResultsData/fulfilled","payload":{"data":{"url":"schally","displayForm":"Schally","canonicalSlug":"schally","content":[{"source":"luna","entries":[{"id":"u3bb48a285cbafaf0.-3bc55cee.14d9e760f7d.7fd4","type":"normal","entry":"Schally","entrySyllabified":"Schal·ly","entryVariants":[],"homograph":null,"pronunciation":{"ipa":"ˈʃæl i ","spell":"shal-ee ","audio":{"audio/ogg":"https://static.sfdict.com/audio/lunawav/S01/S0163700.ogg","audio/mpeg":"https://static.sfdict.com/audio/S01/S0163700.mp3"}},"predefinitionContent":"","posBlocks":[{"definitions":[{"order":1,"type":"simple","predefinitionContent":"Andrew Victor, born 1926,","postdefinitionContent":"","definition":"U.S. physiologist, born in Poland: Nobel Prize 1977.","synonyms":"","antonyms":"","cites":[]}],"pos":"noun","posSupplementaryInfo":""}],"origin":null,"originData":null,"supplementaryNotes":[],"variantForms":[],"variantSpellings":[],"referenceData":[],"relatedForms":[],"confusables":[]}]}],"nearbyWordOrdinal":135990,"index-rank-01":["schally"],"index-rank-02":[],"index-rank-03":[],"index-rank-04":["schally's"],"index-rank-05":[],"index-rank-06":["andrew schally","andrew victor schally"],"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":[],"tunaSlug":null,"isFeaturedMetaSlug":false}},"meta":{"arg":{"word":"schally"},"requestId":"29o2ebOMQE6WM7JBd0vMs","requestStatus":"fulfilled"}},{"type":"fetchSpellSuggestions/fulfilled","payload":{"data":{"luna":["Schally","socially","scally","Schley","Sally","sally","shall","scall","scaly","Schawlow","Schiller","Shelly","chilly","schiller","shelly"],"tuna":["socially","sally","shall","scaly","chilly","squally","social","shallow","chill","shale","shawl","shell","shill","shyly","silly","specially","sully"],"lunaWithSlug":[{"displayForm":"Schally","slug":"schally"},{"displayForm":"socially","slug":"socially"},{"displayForm":"scally","slug":"scally"},{"displayForm":"Schley","slug":"schley"},{"displayForm":"Sally","slug":"sally"},{"displayForm":"sally","slug":"sally"},{"displayForm":"shall","slug":"shall"},{"displayForm":"scall","slug":"scall"},{"displayForm":"scaly","slug":"scaly"},{"displayForm":"Schawlow","slug":"schawlow"},{"displayForm":"Schiller","slug":"schiller"},{"displayForm":"Shelly","slug":"shelly"},{"displayForm":"chilly","slug":"chilly"},{"displayForm":"schiller","slug":"schiller"},{"displayForm":"shelly","slug":"shelly"}],"tunaWithSlug":[{"displayForm":"socially","slug":"socially"},{"displayForm":"sally","slug":"sally"},{"displayForm":"shall","slug":"shall"},{"displayForm":"scaly","slug":"scaly"},{"displayForm":"chilly","slug":"chilly"},{"displayForm":"squally","slug":"squally"},{"displayForm":"social","slug":"social"},{"displayForm":"shallow","slug":"shallow"},{"displayForm":"chill","slug":"chill"},{"displayForm":"shale","slug":"shale"},{"displayForm":"shawl","slug":"shawl"},{"displayForm":"shell","slug":"shell"},{"displayForm":"shill","slug":"shill"},{"displayForm":"shyly","slug":"shyly"},{"displayForm":"silly","slug":"silly"},{"displayForm":"specially","slug":"specially"},{"displayForm":"sully","slug":"sully"}]}},"meta":{"arg":{"word":"schally"},"requestId":"V6Xzon4G_YLt49cksWIT9","requestStatus":"fulfilled"}}]},"actionData":null,"errors":null}

Schally

noun

Word of the Day