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":"EaU_ztnM7D8Ig07z-cf2b","requestStatus":"fulfilled"}},{"type":"fetchWordsNearby/fulfilled","payload":{"data":{"before":[{"slug":"fretty","entry":"fretty"},{"slug":"fretwork","entry":"fretwork"},{"slug":"freud","entry":"Freud"},{"slug":"freudian","entry":"Freudian"},{"slug":"freudian-slip","entry":"Freudian slip"}],"after":[{"slug":"freund-s-adjuvant","entry":"Freund's adjuvant"},{"slug":"frey","entry":"Frey"},{"slug":"freya","entry":"Freya"},{"slug":"freyre","entry":"Freyre"},{"slug":"freytag","entry":"Freytag"}]}},"meta":{"arg":{"word":"freud--sigmund"},"requestId":"z0gTLJC8CASPyX_EiDD3_","requestStatus":"fulfilled"}},{"type":"luna/fetchExampleSentences/fulfilled","payload":{"data":{"tdb":[],"gbg":[]}},"meta":{"arg":{"word":"freud--sigmund"},"requestId":"mf-pvv2xvXoOXuWbiwq_e","requestStatus":"fulfilled"}},{"type":"fetchDictionaryResults/fulfilled","payload":{"slugs":[{"entries":[],"url":"freud-sigmund"}]},"meta":{"arg":{"slug":"freud--sigmund"},"requestId":"o3XY5Buomyx2XFr2HYibq","requestStatus":"fulfilled"}},{"type":"fetchResultsData/fulfilled","payload":{"data":{"url":"freud--sigmund","displayForm":"Freud, Sigmund","canonicalSlug":"freud--sigmund","content":[{"source":"cultural","entries":[{"id":"freudsigmund","type":"normal","entry":"Freud, Sigmund","entrySyllabified":null,"entryVariants":[],"homograph":0,"pronunciation":null,"predefinitionContent":null,"contentBlocks":[{"title":null,"content":[{"type":"paragraph","content":"A physician in Vienna, Austria, in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, who founded psychoanalysis and developed the theory of the Oedipus complex. He believed that psychological problems could be traced to repressed childhood experiences, particularly to repressed sexual desires. He also argued that dreams provide clues to the nature of psychological problems. His theories introduced concepts such as those of the id and superego into the language of psychiatry."}]}],"supplementaryNotes":[]}]}],"nearbyWordOrdinal":60723,"index-rank-01":["freud, sigmund"],"index-rank-02":["freud sigmund"],"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":["freud-sigmund"],"tunaSlug":null,"isFeaturedMetaSlug":false}},"meta":{"arg":{"word":"freud--sigmund"},"requestId":"hZAwtHhnLvfzi5-sUF5Lk","requestStatus":"fulfilled"}},{"type":"fetchSpellSuggestions/fulfilled","payload":{"data":{"luna":["Freud","Fred","fraud","Fried","fried","Freda","Froude","feud","fret","fremd"],"tuna":["fred","fraud","freed","fried","fared","fired","fored","feud","fret"],"lunaWithSlug":[{"displayForm":"Freud","slug":"freud"},{"displayForm":"Fred","slug":"fred"},{"displayForm":"fraud","slug":"fraud"},{"displayForm":"Fried","slug":"fried"},{"displayForm":"fried","slug":"fried"},{"displayForm":"Freda","slug":"freda"},{"displayForm":"Froude","slug":"froude"},{"displayForm":"feud","slug":"feud"},{"displayForm":"fret","slug":"fret"},{"displayForm":"fremd","slug":"fremd"}],"tunaWithSlug":[{"displayForm":"fred","slug":"fred"},{"displayForm":"fraud","slug":"fraud"},{"displayForm":"freed","slug":"freed"},{"displayForm":"fried","slug":"fried"},{"displayForm":"fared","slug":"fared"},{"displayForm":"fired","slug":"fired"},{"displayForm":"fored","slug":"fored"},{"displayForm":"feud","slug":"feud"},{"displayForm":"fret","slug":"fret"}]}},"meta":{"arg":{"word":"freud--sigmund"},"requestId":"jFrloGhLku2WgawXWlGbY","requestStatus":"fulfilled"}}]},"actionData":null,"errors":null}

Did you mean Freud?