tortuous meaning and definition

TORTUOUS adjective

Definition of tortuous (adjective)

1. highly complex or intricate and occasionally devious
   • "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"- Sir Walter Scott; "tortuous legal procedures"; "tortuous negotiations lasting for months"
   • synonyms: Byzantine, convoluted, involved, knotty, tangled
2. marked by repeated turns and bends
   • "a tortuous road up the mountain"; "winding roads are full of surprises"; "had to steer the car down a twisty track"
   • synonyms: twisting, twisty, voluminous, winding
3. not straightforward
   • "his tortuous reasoning"