convoluted

con·vo·lut·ed

adjective \ˈkän-və-ˌlü-təd\

Definition of CONVOLUTED

1

: having convolutions

2

: involved, intricate <a convoluted argument>

Examples of CONVOLUTED

1. <a convoluted explanation that left the listeners even more confused than they were before>
2. At base stands a profound respect for the integrity of history and the complex and convoluted relationship between present and the past. —Ira Berlin, New York Times Book Review, 9 Sept. 2001
3. They are pictures of convoluted tree trunks on an island of pink wave-smoothed stone … —Margaret Atwood, Harper's, August 1990
4. … she has been fashioning sequences of plans too convoluted to materialize … —Joseph Heller, God Knows, 1984
5. To therapists, stepfamilies may present convoluted psychological dilemmas … —Letty Cottin Pogrebin, Family Politics, 1983

Origin of CONVOLUTED

(see convolute)

First Known Use: 1766

Related to CONVOLUTED

Synonyms

baroque, byzantine, complicate, complicated, complex, daedal, elaborate, intricate, involute, involved, knotty, labyrinthian, labyrinthine, sophisticated, tangled

Antonyms

noncomplex, noncomplicated, plain, simple, uncomplicated

Related Words

overcomplex, overcomplicated; composite, compound, heterogeneous, mixed, multibranched, multifaceted, multifarious, multipart, varied; challenging, difficult, tough; impenetrable, incomprehensible, inexplicable, Kafkaesque, unfathomable, unintelligible

Near Antonyms

oversimplified, simplified, simplistic; homogeneous, uniform, unvaried

Other Anatomy Terms

bilateral symmetry, carotid, cartilage, dorsal, entrails, prehensile, renal, solar plexus, supine, thoracic, ventral

con·vo·lut·ed

adjective \-ˌlü-təd\   (Medical Dictionary)

Medical Definition of CONVOLUTED

: folded in curved or tortuous windings; specifically : having convolutions <the highly convoluted human cerebral cortex>