[tawr-choo-uh
s] 
| 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. |
| 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. |
tortuous tor·tu·ous (tôr'ch&oomacr;-əs)
adj.
Having many turns; winding or twisting.