tortuous

American  

[tawr-choo-uhs] / ˈtɔr tʃu əs /

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.

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tortuous British  

/ ˈtɔːtjʊəs /

adjective

1. twisted or winding

   a tortuous road

2. devious or cunning

   a tortuous mind

3. intricate

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Usage

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.

Commonly Confused

See torturous.

Other Word Forms

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

Etymology

Origin of tortuous

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; see -ous

Explanation

Tortuous means twisting or complicated. "James Bond drove up a mountain road that was tortuous in its twists and turns. He had to stop the evil madman's plan for world domination, a plan so tortuous that even 007 himself could not understand it." From Latin torquere "to twist," tortuous means something with twists and turns –– a path, an argument, a story. It is important not to confuse it with torturous, which means characterized by great pain. "The contemporary string quartet was tortuous in its tonal shifts, but only torturous at the point where the violinist ran her nails up and down a chalkboard."

Example Sentences

Tortuous as Sharp's screenplay was, Peckinpah's direction did little to illuminate it.

From The Guardian • Feb. 14, 2013

Splashy hires: Tortuous search yielded Pitt coach Todd Graham at $2 million annually.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 26, 2012

Tortuous alleys appear and disappear amidst this delightful chaos, and little figures like ants may be seen labouring up the steep slopes.

From Cathedral Cities of Italy by Collins, William Wiehe

Tortuous veins of lava at Punto di Giumento, Etna.

From Principles of Geology or, The Modern Changes of the Earth and its Inhabitants Considered as Illustrative of Geology by Lyell, Charles, Sir

Tortuous foot-paths of vivid pink wound over brilliant green terraces of young paddy.

From Dragon's blood by Rideout, Henry Milner

Related Words

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