Standard Lemma guide

tortuous

adj · 6 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈtɔːt͡ʃuːəs/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • General-American: /ˈtɔɹt͡ʃuəs/
  • CMU ARPABET: T AO1 R CH AH0 W AH0 S Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Twisted; having many turns; convoluted.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: figuratively, often

Examples

  • 2007 October 6, “Slogging on the Home Front”, editorial in The New York Times, It still takes almost half a year for the average veteran’s claim for disability benefits to be decided in a tortuous process that can involve four separate hearings.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

adj

Meaning 2

Oblique; applied to the six signs of the zodiac (from Capricorn to Gemini) that ascend most rapidly and obliquely.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: astrology, human-sciences, mysticism, philosophy, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

adj

Meaning 3

Injurious; tortious.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: obsolete

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

adjective satellite

Meaning 4

not straightforward

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • his tortuous reasoning

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

adjective satellite

Meaning 5

highly complex or intricate and occasionally devious- Sir Walter Scott

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • the Byzantine tax structure
  • Byzantine methods for holding on to his chairmanship
  • convoluted legal language
  • convoluted reasoning
  • the plot was too involved
  • a knotty problem
  • got his way by labyrinthine maneuvering
  • Oh, what a tangled web we weave
  • tortuous legal procedures
  • tortuous negotiations lasting for months

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: Byzantine, convoluted, involved, knotty, tangled

Antonyms: none provided

6

adjective satellite

Meaning 6

marked by repeated turns and bends

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • a tortuous road up the mountain
  • winding roads are full of surprises
  • had to steer the car down a twisty track

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: twisting, twisty, winding, voluminous

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From Middle English tortuous, tortuose, from Anglo-Norman and Old French tortuos, from Latin tortuōsus, from tortus (“a twisting, winding”).

Across languages

Translations

16 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: изкривен (izkriven) — twisted
  • Bulgarian: усукан (usukan) — twisted
  • Catalan: tortuós — twisted
  • Finnish: kiemurainen — twisted
  • French: tortueux — twisted
  • French: sinueux — twisted
  • Italian: contorto — twisted
  • Japanese: 曲がりくねった (magarikunetta) — twisted
  • Latin: flexuosus — twisted
  • Latin: tortuōsus — twisted
  • Persian: پیچاپیچ (pičâpič) — twisted
  • Polish: pokrętny — twisted
  • Polish: wykrętny — twisted
  • Polish: zawiły — twisted
  • Portuguese: tortuoso — twisted
  • Spanish: tortuoso — twisted