tortuous
- 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.
Origin of tortuous
Synonyms for tortuous
See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.comUsage note
Related Words for tortuous
meandering, winding, convoluted, labyrinthine, circuitous, indirect, serpentine, twisting, tricky, bent, crooked, curved, roundabout, sinuous, snaky, zigzag, anfractuous, flexuous, involute, meandrousExamples from the Web for tortuous
Contemporary Examples of tortuous
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 of tortuous
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
Word Origin and History for tortuous
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).
tortuous
(tôr′chōō-əs)- Having many turns; winding or twisting.