tortuous

[tawr-choo-uhs]

adjective

1. full of twists, turns, or bends; twisting, winding, or crooked.

   a tortuous path.

   Synonyms: serpentine, sinuous, bent

2. not direct or straightforward, as in procedure or speech; circuitous.

   tortuous negotiations lasting for months.

   Synonyms: indirect, roundabout, evasive

3. deceitfully indirect or morally crooked, as proceedings, methods, or policy; devious.

tortuous

/ ˈtɔːtjʊəs /

adjective

1. twisted or winding

   a tortuous road

2. devious or cunning

   a tortuous mind

3. intricate

Confusables Note

See torturous.

Other Word Forms

• tortuously adverb
• tortuousness noun
• nontortuous adjective
• nontortuously adverb
• untortuous adjective
• untortuously adverb
• untortuousness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of tortuous¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin tortuōsus, equivalent to tortu(s) “a twisting” ( torquēre “to twist, bend” + -tus suffix of verbal action) + -ōsus adjective suffix; -ous

Example Sentences

Never has the first phase of what is certain to be a tortuous process of negotiations, of breakthroughs and breakdowns, been marked by such fanfare.

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Only then will they feel that Hillsborough has left a legacy which they can stand by, and which will help prevent others experiencing a similar tortuous journey.

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It’s also a tortuous kink in his road to absolution.

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Now, thanks to some tortuous negotiations, many of them involving Rutte, the weapons can continue to flow without Washington picking up the tab.

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The latest round of former-bro hostilities was once again triggered by Musk’s opposition to the GOP’s sweeping “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” currently the focus of extended and tortuous debate in the U.S.

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Related Words

• circuitous 
• convoluted 
• indirect 
• labyrinthine 
• meandering 
• serpentine 
• twisting 
• winding 

When To Use

What’s the difference between tortuous and torturous?

Tortuous means winding or full of twists and turns, as in a tortuous path, but it can also be used in a more figurative way to mean indirect, convoluted, or even devious. Torturous is used to describe things that are painful or that cause suffering, as if they were a form of torture.Both words are adjectives, and their spellings are separated by only one letter—making their pronunciations very similar. Making things even more confusing is that there are some situations in which it could make sense to use either word. For example, a piece of writing that’s extremely hard to follow because of how unorganized it is could be described as both tortuous (because it’s so meandering) and torturous (because it’s like torture to read it).The best way to remember the difference is that torturous has a second r in it, just like its base word, torture. If you want to use the word tortuous in a piece of writing and you’re worried it might be confusing, you might be right! Luckily, there are plenty of alternative words that can be used in the same way, depending on what you mean, such as winding, meandering, circuitous, indirect, and convoluted.Here’s an example of tortuous and torturous used correctly in the same sentence.Example: Trying to follow the tortuous arguments in the meandering paper was torturous. Want to learn more? Read the full breakdown of the difference between tortuous and torturous.