tortuous

Meaning

1. (figuratively, often) Twisted; having many turns; convoluted.
2. Oblique; applied to the six signs of the zodiac (from Capricorn to Gemini) that ascend most rapidly and obliquely.
3. (obsolete) Injurious; tortious.

Synonyms

winding

twisting

meandering

sinuous

curved

twisty

zigzag

crooked

bent

spiral

serpentine

voluminous

Byzantine

convoluted

devious

involved

knotty

snaky

tangled

twisted

anfractuous

wry

squinty

vermiculated

complicated

misrepresented

oblique

roundabout

cockeyed

sinuate

bowed

slithering

torquated

sneaky

sophisticated

blind

spiry

zigzaging

tortile

troublesome

turbinal

going irregularly

bending

bandy

underhand

underhanded

vermicular

vermiculate

tortive

warped

Translations

tortueux

tortuoso

gewunden

contorto

kurvenreich

hileli

tortuós

sinuós

ελικοειδής

anfrattuoso

multiplex

verbog

schwierig

geschlängelt

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈtɔːt͡ʃuːəs/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: tortuous

In summary

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