adjective
-
(of wood, rope, etc) full of or characterized by knots
-
extremely difficult or intricate
Other Word Forms
- knottily adverb
- knottiness noun
- unknotty adjective
Etymology
Origin of knotty
First recorded in 1200–50, knotty is from the Middle English word cnotti. See knot 1, -y 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
I drag my garbage bag across the backyard and underneath the maple tree with thick leaves and knotty roots.
From Literature
As I part the curtains, early-morning sun spills through the window, spreading warm light across the knotty plank floor.
From Literature
What Thompson-Hernández’s art so easily dispels, no matter the genre it finds a home in, are all the knotty, misguided and trite representations of otherness in our contemporary world.
From Los Angeles Times
Of course, as with any knotty academic question, there are anomalies.
From BBC
Questions around pediatric use, Ms. Donnellan recognizes, are knotty: How do we balance the “significant health damage” caused by excess weight in childhood with the risks of committing children to long-term drug therapy?
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
