knotty

[ not-ee ]

/ ˈnɒt i /

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See synonyms for knotty on Thesaurus.com

adjective, knot·ti·er, knot·ti·est.

having knots; full of knots: a knotty piece of wood.

involved, intricate, or difficult: a knotty problem.

OTHER WORDS FOR knotty

2 complex, complicated.

See synonyms for knotty on Thesaurus.com

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Origin of knotty

First recorded in 1200–50, knotty is from the Middle English word cnotti.See knot¹, -y¹

OTHER WORDS FROM knotty

knot·ti·ly, adverbknot·ti·ness, nounun·knot·ty, adjective

Words nearby knotty

knotroot, knot stitch, knotted, knotter, knotting, knotty, knotweed, knotwork, knout, know, knowable

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use knotty in a sentence

The design — knotty pine floors, swirling ceiling fans, touches of pale blue — strikes just the right tone without screaming “CRAB HOUSE.”
Get your Maryland crab fix at the Point Crab House, along with ace service and a water view|Tom Sietsema|May 14, 2021|Washington Post
Inside, you’ll get knotty pine walls and a renovated farm-style kitchen.
11 Amazing Airbnbs Near the Grand Canyon|Megan Michelson|February 15, 2021|Outside Online
It involved a geometric object called the amplituhedron that had been proposed as the answer to one of the knottiest problems in physics.
A Mathematician’s Unanticipated Journey Through the Physical World|Kevin Hartnett|December 16, 2020|Quanta Magazine
Nebraska just lost a knotty one at Iowa and complained its center struggled with snaps because of clapping from the Iowa sideline.
Once obvious and thrilling, three college football coaching hires have lost their luster|Chuck Culpepper|November 30, 2020|Washington Post

Also in this content collection, get help untangling some of AI’s newest, and knottiest, concepts.
The future of mobile AI|Casey Sullivan|October 7, 2020|MIT Technology Review
For anyone looking to dive into the big, knotty history of one of the most iconic states, this book is well worth the time.
How Religion Turned Texas Red|William O’Connor|August 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The profession remains a knotty tangle of influences and causations and aggravations and insurers.
Is Psychiatry Being Stumped By the Mental Illnesses It Has to Treat?|Matthew Tiffany|August 10, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Think of it merely as another knotty problem of logistics to be solved.
Trust Me, Dominique, Don't Run|Mansfield Frazier|May 18, 2011|DAILY BEAST
Our nicely worked out system for supplying the troops has in a moment been tangled up into a hundred knotty problems.
Gallipoli Diary, Volume I|Ian Hamilton
The Cuban debts and the future of the Philippines were really the knotty points in the entire debate.
The Philippine Islands|John Foreman
De Robeck and Keyes came over from the Triad to unravel knotty points.
Gallipoli Diary, Volume I|Ian Hamilton
His envoys had proposed to refer the knotty point to the decision of His Holiness; but 'this they absolutely declined.'
King Robert the Bruce|A. F. Murison
Landy Spencer drummed his knotty fingers on the armchair and looked thoughtfully at the old Nestor seated at his fireside.
David Lannarck, Midget|George S. Harney

British Dictionary definitions for knotty

knotty

/ (ˈnɒtɪ) /

adjective -tier or -tiest

(of wood, rope, etc) full of or characterized by knots

extremely difficult or intricate

Derived forms of knotty

knottily, adverbknottiness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

knotty

OTHER WORDS FOR knotty

Origin of knotty

OTHER WORDS FROM knotty

Words nearby knotty

Words related to knotty

How to use knotty in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for knotty

Derived forms of knotty