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":"gH0RjISstlGEfa2xtsm-B","requestStatus":"fulfilled"}},{"type":"fetchWordsNearby/fulfilled","payload":{"data":{"before":[{"slug":"cheat-sheet","entry":"cheat sheet"},{"slug":"cheb","entry":"Cheb"},{"slug":"chebec","entry":"chebec"},{"slug":"chebeck","entry":"chebeck"},{"slug":"cheboksary","entry":"Cheboksary"}],"after":[{"slug":"chechako","entry":"chechako"},{"slug":"chechen","entry":"Chechen"},{"slug":"chechen-ingush-autonomous-republic","entry":"Chechen-Ingush Autonomous Republic"},{"slug":"chechen-republic","entry":"Chechen Republic"},{"slug":"chechia","entry":"chéchia"}]}},"meta":{"arg":{"word":"chebyshev-s-inequality"},"requestId":"r6d_wlZQUUmScdRK0q3WR","requestStatus":"fulfilled"}},{"type":"luna/fetchExampleSentences/fulfilled","payload":{"data":{"tdb":[],"gbg":[]}},"meta":{"arg":{"word":"chebyshev-s-inequality"},"requestId":"LhnFgLIcpepMF_kk-vxq1","requestStatus":"fulfilled"}},{"type":"fetchDictionaryResults/fulfilled","payload":{"slugs":[]},"meta":{"arg":{"slug":"chebyshev-s-inequality"},"requestId":"4Kxg3r4ZRv0kcTkjjzJps","requestStatus":"fulfilled"}},{"type":"fetchResultsData/fulfilled","payload":{"data":{"url":"chebyshev-s-inequality","displayForm":"Chebyshev's inequality","canonicalSlug":"chebyshev-s-inequality","content":[{"source":"collins","entries":[{"id":"u11d1def534ea1be0.1a3ea532.11d23e8aae9.3d76.1","type":"normal","entry":"Chebyshev's inequality","entrySyllabified":null,"entryVariants":"","homograph":null,"pronunciation":{"audio":null,"spell":null,"ipa":"(ˈtʃɛbɪˌʃɒfs)"},"predefinitionContent":"","posBlocks":[{"pos":"noun","posSupplementaryInfo":"","definitions":[{"order":1,"type":"simple","predefinitionContent":"statistics","definition":"the fundamental theorem that the probability that a random variable differs from its mean by more than k standard deviations is less than or equal to 1/ k ²","postdefinitionContent":""}]}],"origin":"named after P. L. Chebyshev (1821–94), Russian mathematician","supplementaryNotes":[],"variantForms":[],"referenceData":[],"relatedForms":[],"derivedForms":[]}]}],"nearbyWordOrdinal":28262,"index-rank-01":["chebyshev's inequality"],"index-rank-02":["chebyshevs inequality"],"index-rank-03":[],"index-rank-04":[],"index-rank-05":[],"index-rank-06":[],"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":"chebyshev-s-inequality"},"requestId":"v9OwBVXz3ta5Ktq_m07f-","requestStatus":"fulfilled"}},{"type":"fetchSpellSuggestions/fulfilled","payload":{"data":{"luna":["Kuibyshev","Chibcha","shabash","Gorbachev","Chibchan"],"tuna":["cherished","cherishes","the bushes","cherish","cheap shot"],"lunaWithSlug":[{"displayForm":"Kuibyshev","slug":"kuibyshev"},{"displayForm":"Chibcha","slug":"chibcha"},{"displayForm":"shabash","slug":"shabash"},{"displayForm":"Gorbachev","slug":"gorbachev"},{"displayForm":"Chibchan","slug":"chibchan"}],"tunaWithSlug":[{"displayForm":"cherished","slug":"cherished"},{"displayForm":"cherishes","slug":"cherishes"},{"displayForm":"the bushes","slug":"the%20bushes"},{"displayForm":"cherish","slug":"cherish"},{"displayForm":"cheap shot","slug":"cheap%20shot"}]}},"meta":{"arg":{"word":"chebyshev-s-inequality"},"requestId":"3yTa0b2ulmeRVwohaa438","requestStatus":"fulfilled"}}]},"actionData":null,"errors":null}

Did you mean Kuibyshev?