labyrinthine
Americanadjective
-
of, relating to, or resembling a labyrinth.
-
complicated; tortuous.
the labyrinthine byways of modern literature.
adjective
-
of or relating to a labyrinth
-
resembling a labyrinth in complexity
Other Word Forms
- labyrinthically adverb
Etymology
Origin of labyrinthine
Explanation
Labyrinthine is a good word to describe a place that feels like an enormous maze. A new student at a huge, sprawling high school is likely to find the building labyrinthine as she wanders the halls looking for her math class. If you've ever been lost in a hedge maze, you know what a labyrinth is. The adjective labyrinthine describes something that is as confusing, complex, or maze-like as a labyrinth. This could be an actual maze, a city, or even a convoluted idea. The word comes from the Greek labyrinthos, the structure built to contain the mythological Minotaur. In the story, Daedalus did such a good job making the building labyrinthine that he nearly couldn't find his way out.
Vocabulary lists containing labyrinthine
Words to Describe a Place
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"The Palace Thief" by Ethan Canin
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This Week in Words: July 20–26, 2019
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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.
It requires a labyrinthine permitting process any time a “major emitting facility” is built, requiring air-quality modeling and public hearings.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 13, 2026
The result is a labyrinthine layout that invites visitors to wander, exploring every line, shade, and shadow as if following Husain's own brushstrokes.
From BBC • Dec. 6, 2025
Driving the growth in marine traffic is a widespread idea that the Northwest Passage—a labyrinthine network of straits and channels connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through the Arctic—will soon become a sustainable freight thoroughfare.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 30, 2025
For now, the mood is exuberant at Renate, a labyrinthine club with multiple DJs housed in a dimly-lit complex near the Spree river, a Berlin institution which recently celebrated its 18th birthday.
From Barron's • Oct. 16, 2025
In the labyrinthine Ministry the windowless, air-conditioned rooms kept their normal temperature, but outside the pavements scorched one’s feet and the stench of the Tubes at the rush hours was a horror.
From "1984" by George Orwell
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.
