Synonyms for tortuous
ˈtɔr tʃu əstor·tu·ous

Complete Dictionary of Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. tortuous

   Synonyms:
   devious, circuitous, anfractuous, ambiguous, complicated, sinuous, deceitful, crooked, twisting, indirect, sinister, indexed

   Antonyms:
   right, straight, direct, rectilinear, straightforward, undeviating

Princeton's WordNetRate these synonyms:5.0 / 1 vote

1. Byzantine, convoluted, involved, knotty, tangled, tortuousadjective

   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:
   involved, knotty, problematical, twisty, convolute, twisting, winding, problematic, mired, gnarled, gnarly, tangled, knobbed, tough, knotted, elusive, snarly, voluminous, convoluted, baffling, snarled

   Antonyms:
   straight, direct, simple

2. tortuous, twisting, twisty, winding, voluminousadjective

   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:
   tangled, winding, convoluted, voluminous, copious, rambling, meandering(a), twisty, twisting, involved, knotty, wandering(a)

   Antonyms:
   direct, simple, straight

3. tortuousadjective

   not straightforward

   "his tortuous reasoning"

   Synonyms:
   tangled, winding, convoluted, voluminous, twisty, twisting, involved, knotty

   Antonyms:
   direct, simple, straight

Dictionary of English SynonymesRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. tortuousadjective

   Synonyms:
   crooked, sinuous, circuitous, curved, curvilinear, curvilineal, sinuate, sinuated, winding, serpentine, bending in and out

2. tortuousadjective

   Synonyms:
   perverse, circuitous, roundabout, indirect

PPDB, the paraphrase databaseRate these paraphrases:0.0 / 0 votes

1. List of paraphrases for "tortuous":

   circuitous, convoluted, crooked

Suggested Resources

1. Tortuous

   Torturous vs. Tortuous -- In this Grammar.com article you will learn the differences between the words Torturous and Tortuous.

How to pronounce tortuous?

How to say tortuous in sign language?

Usage in printed sourcesFrom: 

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Words popularity by usage frequency

How to use tortuous in a sentence?

1. Jared Polis:

   Colorado has joined a growing list of states that have banned so-called conversion therapy, it's a tortuous practice that has long been widely-discredited by medical and mental health professionals.

2. Karen Bass:

   I think when people witnessed the really slow, tortuous murder of George Floyd, it was just not up for debate, i think the American people were horrified.

3. Antonio Zappulla:

   No one can begin to imagine what Nazanin has endured throughout the past tortuous six years; denied her freedoms, separated from her husband and young child, battling significant illness, thrown in solitary confinement, an innocent victim of an international dispute, Nazanin has been one of many used as political pawns. Her treatment has been utterly inhumane.