tortuous

Tortuous is an adjective describing something that is full of twists and turns, either in a physical sense, such as a road, river, or path that winds irregularly, or in a figurative sense, such as a process, argument, or explanation that is long and complex. The term often implies a sense of difficulty or indirectness rather than mere straightness.

Etymology and distinctions: Tortuous derives from Middle English tortuos, from Latin tortuosus “twisted, winding,” from tortere “to twist.” It is distinct from torturous, which relates to causing pain or suffering rather than merely being winding or intricate.

Usage: The word is commonly used to describe winding roads or waterways, but also applies to introspective or procedural complexity. For example, a mountain road can follow a tortuous route; a bureaucratic approval process can be tortuous and time-consuming; or a speaker’s reasoning can be tortuous and hard to follow. The adverbial form is tortuously.

Related terms: Synonyms include winding, meandering, serpentine, convoluted, and circuitous. While these words overlap in meaning, tortuous often carries a sense of deliberate complexity or indirectness beyond mere curvature.

See also: Tortuous versus torturous, geography of winding courses, rhetoric on verbose or indirect argumentation.