Gordian

[gawr-dee-uhn]

adjective

1. pertaining to Gordius, ancient king of Phrygia, who tied a knot the Gordian knot that, according to prophecy, was to be undone only by the person who was to rule Asia, and that was cut, rather than untied, by Alexander the Great.

2. resembling the Gordian knot in intricacy.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Gordian¹

1555–65; < Latin Gordi ( us ) (< Greek Górdios Gordius) + -an

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. cut the Gordian knot, to act quickly and decisively in a difficult situation; solve a problem boldly.

Example Sentences

Shapiro dexterously untangles the Gordian knot of their entwined passions, shared ambitions and business bottom lines.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The tangled wars in Sudan, Ethiopia and their neighbours cry out for bold action - and if he were so minded, Trump might cut the Gordian Knot.

Read more on BBC

"I think we've seen a significant change this year. It's what I call an assertive transparency campaign," says retired Colonel Raymond Powell of Stanford University's Gordian Knot Centre.

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Essentially, by plugging the equations of the Standard Model into powerful computers, researchers can numerically approximate the mess of hadronic blobs, cutting through the subatomic Gordian knot.

Read more on Scientific American

The Gordian Knot Center launched in 2021 with funding from the Office of Naval Research.

Read more on Washington Times

Related Words

• arduous 
• convoluted 
• difficult 
• fancy 
• hard 
• intricate 
• knotty 
• perplexing 
• problematic 
• sophisticated 
• troublesome