as in complicated
having many parts or aspects that are usually interrelated
spent his first year at the Pentagon just trying to fathom its byzantine workings
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Recent Examples of byzantine
In the mid-1980s, around the time The Goonies delighted moviegoers with its story of pirate treasure, the 39-year-old Cuban American archaeologist Roger Dooley was deep in a Byzantine Spanish archive, hunting for a treasure ship of his own.
—
Julian Sancton, HollywoodReporter, 20 Jan. 2026
That’s because of the byzantine rules for local tax measures.
—Daniel Borenstein, Mercury News, 9 Jan. 2026
Whereas 30-year-olds are already supposedly lost to the byzantine ways of workplace bureaucracies, those a decade their junior are blank slates.
—Lila Shroff, The Atlantic, 20 Dec. 2025
Frogposting, then, pits the intractably byzantine, soulless and cutthroat nature of the contemporary economy in a simple binary against what the posters envision as the green, healthy, naturalness of the Earth—framed as a joke, the base unit of online commentary.
—Hazlitt, 3 Dec. 2025
Though famously byzantine, these processes were created to ensure local control over development decisions.
—Nicole West Bassoff, The Conversation, 14 Nov. 2025
Many people who navigated America’s byzantine immigration and citizenship process for years were also angry at the perception that legal status was being bestowed effortlessly on entirely new groups of people.
—David Faris, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 Oct. 2025
One upshot of the menu’s byzantine sprawl is that every visit offers something new to discover.
—Helen Rosner, New Yorker, 28 Sep. 2025
Congress had enacted byzantine eligibility requirements for disability and Supplemental Security Income benefits, forcing the agency to expend huge amounts of time and money running those programs.
—Eli Hager, ProPublica, 8 Sep. 2025
Julian Sancton, HollywoodReporter, 20 Jan. 2026
That’s because of the byzantine rules for local tax measures.
—Daniel Borenstein, Mercury News, 9 Jan. 2026
Whereas 30-year-olds are already supposedly lost to the byzantine ways of workplace bureaucracies, those a decade their junior are blank slates.
—Lila Shroff, The Atlantic, 20 Dec. 2025
Frogposting, then, pits the intractably byzantine, soulless and cutthroat nature of the contemporary economy in a simple binary against what the posters envision as the green, healthy, naturalness of the Earth—framed as a joke, the base unit of online commentary.
—Hazlitt, 3 Dec. 2025
Though famously byzantine, these processes were created to ensure local control over development decisions.
—Nicole West Bassoff, The Conversation, 14 Nov. 2025
Many people who navigated America’s byzantine immigration and citizenship process for years were also angry at the perception that legal status was being bestowed effortlessly on entirely new groups of people.
—David Faris, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 Oct. 2025
One upshot of the menu’s byzantine sprawl is that every visit offers something new to discover.
—Helen Rosner, New Yorker, 28 Sep. 2025
Congress had enacted byzantine eligibility requirements for disability and Supplemental Security Income benefits, forcing the agency to expend huge amounts of time and money running those programs.
—Eli Hager, ProPublica, 8 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for byzantine
Adjective
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But looming is the question of whether the federal immigration officers who pulled the triggers in both cases actually broke the law, a question that will come down to complicated issues that are much harder to define than the outrage that prompted calls for accountability.—
Andy Rose,
CNN Money,
7 Feb. 2026
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Readers send Miss Manners not only their table and party questions, but those involving the more complicated aspects of life - romance, work, family relationships, child-rearing, death - as well as philosophical and moral dilemmas.—
Judith Martin,
Dallas Morning News,
7 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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That alone distinguishes Bienvenu’s take on a futuristic reality from most sci-fi narratives, which often occur in sleek, cold labs, desolate planets, or intricate spaceships floating in the vastness of space.—
Carlos Aguilar,
Variety,
6 Feb. 2026
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The dress was adorned with intricate three-dimensional floral details at the top and also down at the hip at the start of the slit, with more delicate beaded embellishments cascading along the bare leg.—
Karla Rodriguez,
Footwear News,
6 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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These are common but complicate long-term planning for federal agencies.—
Hollie Silverman,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 Sep. 2025
-
Despite differing views on a variety of security issues, the group, like Gilpatric’s, reached a clear consensus: nuclear proliferation by any additional country would diminish U.S. power, complicate strategic planning, and increase the likelihood of nuclear use, accidents, and disasters.—
MARIANO-FLORENTINO CUÉLLAR,
Foreign Affairs,
25 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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More complex filings, such as returns involving small businesses with employees, rental income or the alternative minimum tax, may not be eligible for preparation, according to the program’s website.—
Alex Perry,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
7 Feb. 2026
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The company says the architecture supports predictable handling during complex flight phases.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
6 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Insights into Alzheimer’s Interestingly, the molecular tricks spiders use to spin their webs are similar to the sophisticated signaling processes found in human neurotransmitter and hormone receptors.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
6 Feb. 2026
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Fleming, who was one of the judges this year, said the event’s growth is indicative of the large number of sophisticated bakeries that have opened in metro Denver in the past few years and of the camaraderie that exists between their pastry chefs.—
Miguel Otárola,
Denver Post,
6 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Byzantine.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/byzantine. Accessed 10 Feb. 2026.
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