The only road access is a tortuous mountain route.
2. adjective [usually ADJECTIVE noun]
A tortuous process or piece of writing is very long and complicated.
...these long and tortuous negotiations aimed at ending the conflict.
The parties must now go through the tortuous process of picking their candidates.
More Synonyms of tortuous
tortuous in British English
(ˈtɔːtjʊəs)
adjective
1.
twisted or winding
a tortuous road
2.
devious or cunning
a tortuous mind
3.
intricate
Derived forms
tortuously (ˈtortuously)
adverb
tortuousness (ˈtortuousness)
noun
tortuous in American English
(ˈtɔrtʃuəs)
adjective
1.
full of twists, turns, curves, or windings; winding; crooked
2.
not straightforward; devious; specif., deceitful or tricky
Derived forms
tortuously (ˈtortuously)
adverb
tortuousness (ˈtortuousness)
noun
Word origin
ME < Anglo-Fr < L tortuosus < tortus: see tort
Examples of 'tortuous' in a sentence
tortuous
The historic agreement was announced after months of tortuous negotiations.
The Sun (2009)
History ensured that the pipeline would follow a tortuous route.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
The road towards qualification still seems like it is going to be another long and tortuous one.
The Sun (2008)
And then it was back on the plane for the tortuous journey home.
The Sun (2014)
Courts are turning to increasingly tortuous routes to protect identities.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
It is a long and tortuous journey.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
It may have been a tortuous road but he is now a fully fledged and rather charming adult.
The Sun (2010)
The planning process has been tortuous.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
The exchange has been the subject of tortuous negotiations by a German intermediary for two years.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
Consumers mustn't suffer this tortuous court process again.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
And second, that the process is long and tortuous and filled with uncertainty.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
At that point in his long, mostly tortuous career you could say he had reached base camp.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
A full economic recovery will take a slow and tortuous process.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
For the first time in a long and tortuous interview, this shy and deeply troubled man almost manages a smile.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
His argument was rather tortuous.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
We took a tortuous route.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
Greece would essentially have to shut down for an entire weekend as banks begin the tortuous process of switching currencies from the euro to the drachma.
The Sun (2012)
He made a tortuous journey from the prison to the SOE.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
It collapsed into administration in 1992, setting the scene for tortuous negotiations with bank lenders.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
But tortuous negotiations in London and Geneva did not this time end entirely without result.
Grenville, J. A. S. The Collins History of the World in the 20th Century (1994)
After a week of tortuous negotiations, the rival continental brewers yesterday sealed a recommended 7.8 billion takeover.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
Undeterred they worked out a fairly tortuous coach route to get them to Lingfield in time for the first at 1.30.
The Sun (2014)
In other languages
tortuous
British English: tortuous ADJECTIVE
A tortuous road is full of bends and twists.
The only road access is a tortuous mountain route.
American English: tortuous
Brazilian Portuguese: tortuoso
Chinese: 弯弯曲曲的
European Spanish: tortuoso
French: tortueux
German: gewunden
Italian: tortuoso
Japanese: 曲がりくねった
Korean: 구불구불한
European Portuguese: tortuoso
Latin American Spanish: tortuoso
1 (adjective)
Definition
twisted or winding
a tortuous mountain route
Synonyms
winding
a long and winding road
twisting
meandering
We crossed a meandering stream.
bent
The trees were all bent and twisted from the wind.
twisted
curved
the curved lines of the chairs
crooked
men gathered in the bars of the crooked streets
indirect
The goods went by a rather indirect route.
convoluted
serpentine
serpentine woodland pathways
zigzag
sinuous
I drove along sinuous mountain roads.
circuitous
They were taken on a circuitous route home.
twisty
mazy
We ran through mazy backyards towards the hill.
2 (adjective)
Definition
devious or cunning
long and tortuous negotiations
Synonyms
complicated
The political situation in this region is very complicated.
involved
The operation can be quite involved, requiring special procedures.
misleading
The article contains several misleading statements.
tricky
They could encounter some tricky political manoeuvring.
indirect
ambiguous
roundabout
a roundabout route
deceptive
Appearances can be deceptive.
devious
He followed a devious route.
convoluted
mazy
Opposites
direct
,
straightforward
,
open
,
reliable
,
upright
,
honest
,
candid
,
ingenuous
Usage note
The adjective tortuous is sometimes confused with torturous. A tortuous road is one that winds or twists, while a torturous experience is one that involves pain, suffering, or discomfort.
Additional synonyms
in the sense of bent
Definition
not straight
The trees were all bent and twisted from the wind.
Synonyms
misshapen,
twisted,
angled,
bowed,
curved,
arched,
crooked,
distorted,
warped,
deformed,
tortuous,
disfigured,
out of shape
in the sense of circuitous
Definition
indirect and lengthy
They were taken on a circuitous route home.
Synonyms
indirect,
winding,
rambling,
roundabout,
meandering,
tortuous,
labyrinthine,
ambagious (archaic)
in the sense of crooked
men gathered in the bars of the crooked streets
Synonyms
zigzag,
winding,
twisting,
meandering,
tortuous,
anfractuous
Nearby words of
tortuous
torrid
torso
tortoise
tortuous
torture
torturous
toss
Synonyms of 'tortuous'
tortuous
Explore 'tortuous' in the dictionary
Additional synonyms
in the sense of curved
the curved lines of the chairs
Synonyms
bent,
rounded,
sweeping,
twisted,
bowed,
arched,
arced,
humped,
serpentine,
sinuous,
twisty
in the sense of deceptive
Definition
likely or designed to deceive
Appearances can be deceptive.
Synonyms
misleading,
false,
fake,
mock,
ambiguous,
unreliable,
spurious,
illusory,
specious,
fallacious,
delusive
in the sense of devious
Definition
(of a route or course of action) indirect
He followed a devious route.
Synonyms
indirect,
roundabout,
wandering,
crooked,
rambling,
tortuous,
deviating,
circuitous,
excursive
in the sense of indirect
Definition
not going in a direct course or line
The goods went by a rather indirect route.
Synonyms
circuitous,
winding,
roundabout,
curving,
wandering,
rambling,
deviant (old-fashioned),
meandering,
tortuous,
zigzag,
long-drawn-out,
circumlocutory,
devious
in the sense of involved
Definition
complicated
The operation can be quite involved, requiring special procedures.
Synonyms
complicated,
complex,
intricate,
hard,
difficult,
confused,
confusing,
sophisticated,
elaborate,
tangled,
bewildering,
jumbled,
entangled,
tortuous,
Byzantine,
convoluted,
knotty,
unfathomable,
labyrinthine
in the sense of mazy
We ran through mazy backyards towards the hill.
Synonyms
twisting,
winding,
twisting and turning,
serpentine,
labyrinthine
in the sense of meandering
We crossed a meandering stream.
Synonyms
winding,
wandering,
snaking,
tortuous,
convoluted,
serpentine,
circuitous
in the sense of misleading
Definition
giving a false or confusing impression
The article contains several misleading statements.
Synonyms
confusing,
false,
ambiguous,
deceptive,
spurious,
evasive,
disingenuous,
tricky (informal),
deceitful,
specious,
delusive,
delusory,
sophistical,
casuistical,
unstraightforward
in the sense of roundabout
Definition
not straightforward
a roundabout route
Synonyms
indirect,
meandering,
devious,
tortuous,
circuitous,
evasive,
discursive,
circumlocutory
in the sense of serpentine
Definition
twisting like a snake
serpentine woodland pathways
Synonyms
twisting,
winding,
snaking,
crooked,
coiling,
meandering,
tortuous,
sinuous,
twisty,
snaky
Additional synonyms
in the sense of sinuous
Definition
full of curves
I drove along sinuous mountain roads.
Synonyms
curving,
winding,
meandering,
crooked,
coiling,
tortuous,
undulating,
serpentine,
curvy,
lithe,
twisty,
mazy
in the sense of tricky
Definition
sly or wily
They could encounter some tricky political manoeuvring.