tortuous
[tawr-choo-uh s]
- full of twists, turns, or bends; twisting, winding, or crooked: a tortuous path.
- not direct or straightforward, as in procedure or speech; intricate; circuitous: tortuous negotiations lasting for months.
- deceitfully indirect or morally crooked, as proceedings, methods, or policy; devious.
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Origin of tortuous
1350–1400; Middle English < Latin tortuōsus, equivalent to tortu(s) a twisting (tor(quēre) to twist, bend + -tus suffix of v. action) + -ōsus -ous
Synonyms
See more synonyms for tortuous on Thesaurus.com1. bent, sinuous, serpentine. 2. evasive, roundabout, indirect.
Usage note
See torturous.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for tortuous
Contemporary Examples
All of the various things I do I love doing, and occasionally I find them tortuous.
In 2011, after tortuous negotiations, a deal was struck for $1.2 trillion in spending cuts over 10 years.
So why take the tortuous and offensive back-door route to appreciating Wharton?
The Quetta Shura official says the negotiations with the French were tortuous.
Historical Examples
The principle of nationality is emerging from the tortuous confusion of the ages.
Mountain MeditationsL. Lind-af-Hageby
Dick, will you tell me what I do know, if I do not read every turn and trick of their tortuous nature?
Lord KilgobbinCharles Lever
The Fortymile is a very picturesque but most tortuous river.
Ten Thousand Miles with a Dog SledHudson Stuck
Vermicular: worm-like, tortuous: resembling the tracks of a worm.
Explanation of Terms Used in EntomologyJohn. B. Smith
There was a winding stair of stone, narrow and tortuous, in one corner of the tower.
The Golden DogWilliam Kirby
tortuous
- twisted or windinga tortuous road
- devious or cunninga tortuous mind
- intricate
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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
Word Origin and History for tortuous
adj.
late 14c., from Anglo-French tortuous (12c.), from Latin tortuosus "full of twists, winding," from tortus "a twisting, winding," from stem of torquere "to twist, wring, distort" (see thwart).
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
tortuous
(tôr′chōō-əs)- Having many turns; winding or twisting.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.