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":"_GHJ5c-fp6OeF-_2PK2Gw","requestStatus":"fulfilled"}},{"type":"fetchWordsNearby/fulfilled","payload":{"data":{"before":[{"slug":"brattishing","entry":"brattishing"},{"slug":"brattle","entry":"brattle"},{"slug":"brattleboro","entry":"Brattleboro"},{"slug":"bratty","entry":"bratty"},{"slug":"bratwurst","entry":"bratwurst"}],"after":[{"slug":"braun","entry":"Braun"},{"slug":"braunite","entry":"braunite"},{"slug":"braunschweig","entry":"Braunschweig"},{"slug":"braunschweiger","entry":"Braunschweiger"},{"slug":"brava","entry":"brava"}]}},"meta":{"arg":{"word":"braudel"},"requestId":"rF-9D6SRX-Bm-TR_DfJC9","requestStatus":"fulfilled"}},{"type":"luna/fetchExampleSentences/fulfilled","payload":{"data":{"tdb":[],"gbg":[]}},"meta":{"arg":{"word":"braudel"},"requestId":"J63BNgQAQV3NKB738tC0P","requestStatus":"fulfilled"}},{"type":"fetchDictionaryResults/fulfilled","payload":{"slugs":[{"entries":[{"__typename":"Entry","audioPronunciations":[{"mpeg":"https://nonprod-audio.dictionary.com/B05/B0585800/B0585800.mp3"}],"confusableNotes":[],"genderNotes":[],"grammarNotes":[],"headword":{"displayForm":"Braudel","slug":"braudel"},"idioms":[],"orderKey":99999010,"ordinal":10,"origin":null,"partOfSpeechBlock":[{"definitions":[{"antonymsConnection":{"edges":[]},"definitionSetChunks":"[{\"text\": \"Fer\\u00b7nand\", \"type\": \"name\"}, {\"type\": \"pronunciation_set\", \"punc\": \"comma\", \"pointsTo\": \"u3bb48a285cbafaf0.-3bc55cee.14d9e5ea03a.-7da3\", \"pronunciationGroupChunks\": [{\"type\": \"pronunciation_group\", \"pointsTo\": \"u3bb48a285cbafaf0.-3bc55cee.14d9e5ea03a.-7da2\", \"ipaChunks\": [{\"text\": \"f\\u025br\\u02c8n\\u0251\\u0303\", \"type\": \"text\", \"pointsTo\": \"u3bb48a285cbafaf0.-3bc55cee.14d9e5ea03a.-7da1\"}], \"spellChunks\": [{\"text\": \"fe\", \"type\": \"text\"}, {\"text\": \"r\", \"type\": \"text\", \"pointsTo\": \"u3bb48a285cbafaf0.-3bc55cee.14d9e5ea03a.-7d9f\"}, {\"text\": \"-\", \"type\": \"text\"}, {\"text\": \"nahn\", \"type\": \"bold\", \"pointsTo\": \"u3bb48a285cbafaf0.-3bc55cee.14d9e5ea03a.-7d9e\"}]}]}, {\"text\": \"1902\\u201385,\", \"type\": \"date\"}, {\"type\": \"def\", \"children\": [{\"text\": \"French historian.\", \"type\": \"text\"}]}]","examples":[],"ordinal":1,"subdefinitions":[],"synonymsConnection":{"edges":[]}}],"inflectionSets":[],"labelSet":null,"ordinal":1,"partOfSpeech":"noun"}],"pronunciationNotes":[],"pronunciationSet":{"pronunciationSetChunk":"{\"type\": \"pronunciation_set\", \"pointsTo\": \"u3bb48a285cbafaf0.-3bc55cee.14d9e5ea03a.-7db2\", \"pronunciationGroupChunks\": [{\"type\": \"pronunciation_group\", \"pointsTo\": \"u3bb48a285cbafaf0.-3bc55cee.14d9e5ea03a.-7db1\", \"ipaChunks\": [{\"text\": \"bro\\u028a\\u02c8d\\u025bl\", \"type\": \"text\", \"pointsTo\": \"u3bb48a285cbafaf0.-3bc55cee.14d9e5ea03a.-7db0\"}], \"spellChunks\": [{\"text\": \"b\", \"type\": \"text\"}, {\"text\": \"r\", \"type\": \"text\", \"pointsTo\": \"u3bb48a285cbafaf0.-3bc55cee.14d9e5ea03a.-7dae\"}, {\"text\": \"oh-\", \"type\": \"text\"}, {\"text\": \"del\", \"type\": \"bold\", \"pointsTo\": \"u3bb48a285cbafaf0.-3bc55cee.14d9e5ea03a.-7dad\"}]}]}"},"relatedFormSets":[],"sensitiveNotes":[],"spellingNotes":[],"synonymStudy":[],"usageAlerts":[],"usageNotes":[],"variants":[],"verbPhrases":[]}],"url":"braudel"}]},"meta":{"arg":{"slug":"braudel"},"requestId":"nGXSsoEqrdM5QWIG33211","requestStatus":"fulfilled"}},{"type":"fetchResultsData/fulfilled","payload":{"data":{"url":"braudel","displayForm":"Braudel","canonicalSlug":"braudel","content":[{"source":"luna","entries":[{"id":"u3bb48a285cbafaf0.-3bc55cee.14d9e5ea03a.-7db6","type":"normal","entry":"Braudel","entrySyllabified":"Brau·del","entryVariants":[],"homograph":null,"pronunciation":{"ipa":"broʊˈdɛl ","spell":"broh-del ","audio":{"audio/ogg":"https://static.sfdict.com/audio/lunawav/B05/B0585800.ogg","audio/mpeg":"https://static.sfdict.com/audio/B05/B0585800.mp3"}},"predefinitionContent":"","posBlocks":[{"definitions":[{"order":1,"type":"simple","predefinitionContent":"Fer·nand

[fer-nahn], /fɛrˈnɑ̃/, 1902–85,","postdefinitionContent":"","definition":"French historian.","synonyms":"","antonyms":"","cites":[]}],"pos":"noun","posSupplementaryInfo":""}],"origin":null,"originData":null,"supplementaryNotes":[],"variantForms":[],"variantSpellings":[],"referenceData":[],"relatedForms":[],"confusables":[]}]}],"nearbyWordOrdinal":20629,"index-rank-01":["braudel"],"index-rank-02":[],"index-rank-03":[],"index-rank-04":["braudel's"],"index-rank-05":[],"index-rank-06":["fernand braudel"],"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":"braudel"},"requestId":"8u5bIaX-SQt8zfJAuVGze","requestStatus":"fulfilled"}},{"type":"fetchSpellSuggestions/fulfilled","payload":{"data":{"luna":["Braudel","bridle","bradawl","Bradley","bridal","braided","brattle","broddle","Brunel","brutal","Beadle","beadle","biradial","broadly","Brendel","bradded","Brale","Brule","Brulé","brulé","Braille","Bride","bedel","bordel","braid","brail","brawl","bride","Brad","Brel","barrel","brad","raddle","branle","cradle","Brady","brede","brindle","brute","ratel","brady-","beau ideal","beau idéal","raw deal"],"tuna":["bridle","bridal","braided","breedle","brutal","broadly","braid","brawl","bride","rudely","barrel","brad","cradle","broader","braids","bravely","broaden","crudely","brindle","brute","gradual","brittle","beau ideal","brumal","brawler","breeder","brooder","bad deal","raw deal"],"lunaWithSlug":[{"displayForm":"Braudel","slug":"braudel"},{"displayForm":"bridle","slug":"bridle"},{"displayForm":"bradawl","slug":"bradawl"},{"displayForm":"Bradley","slug":"bradley"},{"displayForm":"bridal","slug":"bridal"},{"displayForm":"braided","slug":"braided"},{"displayForm":"brattle","slug":"brattle"},{"displayForm":"broddle","slug":"broddle"},{"displayForm":"Brunel","slug":"brunel"},{"displayForm":"brutal","slug":"brutal"},{"displayForm":"Beadle","slug":"beadle"},{"displayForm":"beadle","slug":"beadle"},{"displayForm":"biradial","slug":"biradial"},{"displayForm":"broadly","slug":"broadly"},{"displayForm":"Brendel","slug":"brendel"},{"displayForm":"bradded","slug":"bradded"},{"displayForm":"Brale","slug":"brale"},{"displayForm":"Brule","slug":"brule"},{"displayForm":"Brulé","slug":"brule"},{"displayForm":"brulé","slug":"brule"},{"displayForm":"Braille","slug":"braille"},{"displayForm":"Bride","slug":"bride"},{"displayForm":"bedel","slug":"bedel"},{"displayForm":"bordel","slug":"bordel"},{"displayForm":"braid","slug":"braid"},{"displayForm":"brail","slug":"brail"},{"displayForm":"brawl","slug":"brawl"},{"displayForm":"bride","slug":"bride"},{"displayForm":"Brad","slug":"brad"},{"displayForm":"Brel","slug":"brel"},{"displayForm":"barrel","slug":"barrel"},{"displayForm":"brad","slug":"brad"},{"displayForm":"raddle","slug":"raddle"},{"displayForm":"branle","slug":"branle"},{"displayForm":"cradle","slug":"cradle"},{"displayForm":"Brady","slug":"brady"},{"displayForm":"brede","slug":"brede"},{"displayForm":"brindle","slug":"brindle"},{"displayForm":"brute","slug":"brute"},{"displayForm":"ratel","slug":"ratel"},{"displayForm":"brady-","slug":"brady"},{"displayForm":"beau ideal","slug":"beau-ideal"},{"displayForm":"beau idéal","slug":"beau-ideal"},{"displayForm":"raw deal","slug":"raw-deal"}],"tunaWithSlug":[{"displayForm":"bridle","slug":"bridle"},{"displayForm":"bridal","slug":"bridal"},{"displayForm":"braided","slug":"braided"},{"displayForm":"breedle","slug":"breedle"},{"displayForm":"brutal","slug":"brutal"},{"displayForm":"broadly","slug":"broadly"},{"displayForm":"braid","slug":"braid"},{"displayForm":"brawl","slug":"brawl"},{"displayForm":"bride","slug":"bride"},{"displayForm":"rudely","slug":"rudely"},{"displayForm":"barrel","slug":"barrel"},{"displayForm":"brad","slug":"brad"},{"displayForm":"cradle","slug":"cradle"},{"displayForm":"broader","slug":"broader"},{"displayForm":"braids","slug":"braids"},{"displayForm":"bravely","slug":"bravely"},{"displayForm":"broaden","slug":"broaden"},{"displayForm":"crudely","slug":"crudely"},{"displayForm":"brindle","slug":"brindle"},{"displayForm":"brute","slug":"brute"},{"displayForm":"gradual","slug":"gradual"},{"displayForm":"brittle","slug":"brittle"},{"displayForm":"beau ideal","slug":"beau%20ideal"},{"displayForm":"brumal","slug":"brumal"},{"displayForm":"brawler","slug":"brawler"},{"displayForm":"breeder","slug":"breeder"},{"displayForm":"brooder","slug":"brooder"},{"displayForm":"bad deal","slug":"bad%20deal"},{"displayForm":"raw deal","slug":"raw%20deal"}]}},"meta":{"arg":{"word":"braudel"},"requestId":"8V8ovIZXP1SgJLxU4_yrR","requestStatus":"fulfilled"}}]},"actionData":null,"errors":null}

Braudel

noun

Word of the Day