tortuoustor‧tu‧ous /ˈtɔːtʃuəs $ ˈtɔːr-/ adjective 
Word Origin
a tortuous path over the mountains to Kandahar2complicated and long and therefore confusing: The book begins with a long, tortuous introduction.—tortuously adverb
Word OriginWORD ORIGINtortuous
ExamplesOrigin:
1300-1400 Old French tortueux, from Latin tortuosus, from tortus; ➔ TORTURE1EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
Thesaurus- a tortuous mountain trail
- a twisting, tortuous track through the Snake Mountains
- At last, an end to the tortuous negotiations was in sight.
- It took six months of tortuous negotiations to reach an agreement.
- Most of the villages are accessible only by boat or along tortuous jungle trails.
- But it has been a tortuous and cumbersome journey.
- His rather tortuous explanation seems to come to this.
- It was a tortuous, switchback ride.
- The legal ramifications of the Hains case are tortuous.
- The people came from Bosanska Gradiska, 35 miles away on a twisting, tortuous track through the Snake Mountains.
- They walked on, wandering through a warren of tortuous passageways where the noise and stench grasped Athelstan by the throat.
- Your progress is slow and tortuous.
Longman Language Activatorwhen a road, path, river etc bends► bend
1a tortuous path, stream, road etc has a lot of bends in it and is therefore difficult to travel along: · The road bends right then left, before passing a petrol station. · At the top of the hill, the path bends sharply left and enters a small woodland.
► curve if a road, track, coast etc curves , it has a long smooth bend in it: curve away/round/towards etc: · The dusty white road curved away towards the mountains.· a sandy beach curving gently around the bay
► wind if a road, track, or river winds , it has many smooth bends and is usually very long: wind through/along/around etc: · The trail winds through the hills and then down towards Ironhorse Falls.· Route 101 winds along the coastline for several hundred miles.wind its way: · We decided to take the Blueridge Parkway, which winds its way through the Smoky Mountains.
► twist if a track, road, or stream twists it has many sharp bends and changes direction many times: twist around/along/through etc: · The path twisted back and forth up the side of the mountain.twist and turn: · The streets are narrow and twist and turn and it is not advisable to take a car up them.
► zigzag if a road, track, or path zigzags it has many sharp bends going in opposite directions: · The path zigzagged from side to side through the steep gully.· ski routes zigzagging down the mountainside
► winding a winding road, river etc is long and has a lot of bends in it: · The car climbed the winding road up into the hills.· a quiet little town on the banks of a peaceful, winding river
► tortuous a tortuous path, stream, road etc has a lot of bends in so that it is very difficult to travel along: · Most of the villages are accessible only by boat or along tortuous jungle trails.· a twisting, tortuous track through the Snake Mountains
having a lot of different parts and difficult to understand► complicated consisting of a lot of different parts or details and therefore difficult to understand: · I didn't realize programming the VCR would be so complicated.· The brain is like a very powerful, very complicated computer.· the complicated problem of bringing peace to the Middle East
► complex a complex process or system is difficult to understand because it has a lot of parts that are all connected in different ways: · The chemical processes involved in the experiment are extremely complex.· The seminar focuses on the complex relationship between government, the military, and the media.
► intricate having a lot of small parts or details - use this especially about something that is cleverly designed or made: · Lasers are used to cut intricate designs in wood.· The farmers use an intricate system of drainage canals.· the intricate workings of a watch· intricate patterns of coloured marble
► elaborate having a lot of parts or details and very carefully planned, but often more complicated than is necessary: · Mike had worked out an elaborate system for categorizing his collection of CDs.· Sociologists have been coming up with increasingly elaborate theories to explain unsafe sexual practices.
► involved very long and complicated - use this about a system, description, or explanation that you think should be made simpler: · The system for choosing candidates is very involved, and I won't go into it here.· Adopting a child can be a long involved process.
► tortuous much too long and complicated, and therefore confusing and annoying: · The book begins with a long, tortuous introduction.· At last, an end to the tortuous negotiations was in sight.
► convoluted too complicated and difficult to understand - use this especially about someone's language or arguments, or about a system: · He always uses a lot of convoluted arguments to support his theories, but no one's ever impressed.· James's books are full of long paragraphs and convoluted sentences, which many people do not find appealing.
a tortuous path over the mountains to Kandahar2complicated and long and therefore confusing: The book begins with a long, tortuous introduction.—tortuously adverb