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tortuous - 6 dictionary results
tor⋅tu⋅ous
[tawr-choo-uh
s] 
–adjective
| 1. | full of twists, turns, or bends; twisting, winding, or crooked: a tortuous path. |
| 2. | not direct or straightforward, as in procedure or speech; intricate; circuitous: tortuous negotiations lasting for months. |
| 3. | deceitfully indirect or morally crooked, as proceedings, methods, or policy; devious. |
Origin:
1350–1400; ME < L tortuōsus, equiv. to tortu(s) a twisting (tor(quēre) to twist, bend + -tus suffix of v. action) + -ōsus -ous
1350–1400; ME < L tortuōsus, equiv. to tortu(s) a twisting (tor(quēre) to twist, bend + -tus suffix of v. action) + -ōsus -ous
Related forms:
tor⋅tu⋅ous⋅ly, adverb
tor⋅tu⋅ous⋅ness, noun
Synonyms:
1. bent, sinuous, serpentine. 2. evasive, roundabout, indirect.
1. bent, sinuous, serpentine. 2. evasive, roundabout, indirect.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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|
Link To tortuous
| tor·tu·ous (tôr'chōō-əs) adj.
[Middle English, from Anglo-Norman, from Latin tortuōsus, from tortus, a twisting, from past participle of torquēre, to twist; see terkw- in Indo-European roots.] tor'tu·ous·ly adv., tor'tu·ous·ness n. Usage Note: Although tortuous and torturous both come from the Latin word torquēre, "to twist," their primary meanings are distinct. Tortuous means "twisting" (a tortuous road) or by extension "complex" or "devious." Torturous refers primarily to torture and the pain associated with it. However, torturous also can be used in the sense of "twisted" or "strained," and tortured is an even stronger synonym: tortured reasoning. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Tortuous
Tor"tu*ous\, a. [OE. tortuos, L. tortuosus, fr. tortus a twisting, winding, fr. torquere, tortum, to twist: cf. F. tortueux. See Torture.]1. Bent in different directions; wreathed; twisted; winding; as, a tortuous train; a tortuous train; a tortuous leaf or corolla. The badger made his dark and tortuous hole on the side of every hill where the copsewood grew thick. --Macaulay. 2. Fig.: Deviating from rectitude; indirect; erroneous; deceitful. That course became somewhat lesstortuous, when the battle of the Boyne had cowed the spirit of the Jakobites. --Macaulay. 3. Injurious: tortious. [Obs.] 4. (Astrol.) Oblique; -- applied to the six signs of the zodiac (from Capricorn to Gemini) which ascend most rapidly and obliquely. [Obs.] --Skeat. Infortunate ascendent tortuous. --Chaucer. --Tor"tu*ous*ly, adv. -- Tor"tu*ous*ness, n.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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tortuous
c.1391, from Anglo-Fr. tortuous (12c.), from L. tortuosus "full of twists, winding," from tortus "a twisting, winding," from stem of torquere "to twist, wring, distort" (see thwart).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: tor·tu·ous
Pronunciation: 'torch-(&-)w&s
Function: adjective
: marked by repeated twists, bends, or turns
—tor·tu·rous·ly adverb
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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tortuous tor·tu·ous (tôr'ch&oomacr;-əs)
adj.
Having many turns; winding or twisting.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Cite This Source
Copyright © 2009, Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
