circuitous
adjective
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In J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit, the titular hero Bilbo Baggins takes a circuitous route to the Lonely Mountain, which he helps to reclaim from a monstrous dragon. Although he successfully arrives there—and returns home again—we do not use the adjective circuitous to suggest that his path traces a perfect circle. We’ll get straight to it: although both circuitous and its relative circuit share roots in circus, the Latin word for “circle” (and ancestor of the English words circle and circus), neither need conjure something shaped like, say, a ring. Just as the noun circuit can refer to an indirect route, circuitous describes routes which can appear circular when mapped, but can also be jagged, squiggly, etc. The point is that a journey such as Bilbo’s is not straight, short, or direct, but rather rambling. When used figuratively, circuitous describes something that is not said or done simply and clearly; an example might be a rambling speech about manners in dangerous situations when a direct “Never laugh at live dragons” would suffice.
Examples of circuitous in a Sentence
Jackie Hajdenberg, Sun Sentinel, 21 Apr. 2026
Travel through the area can get circuitous for drivers as so many area streets are one-way and the area is heavily used by pedestrians.
—Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 14 Apr. 2026
Cherry took a circuitous route back to San Diego, moving to Phoenix for high school, then a junior college in New Mexico for two seasons, then UNLV in 2024-25, then Sacramento State last season.
—Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Apr. 2026
Two major highways have been closed for days due to landslides and floods, forcing travelers to take long, circuitous routes to reach their destinations.
—ABC News, 6 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for circuitous
Cite this Entry
“Circuitous.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/circuitous. Accessed 25 Apr. 2026.
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