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
-
The game's flight model is incredibly complicated, with a focus on realistic modeling and some notoriously finicky landing mechanics.—
Alan Bradley,
Space.com,
31 Jan. 2026
-
Lebanon and Syria have a complicated history with grievances on both sides.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
31 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
But the overlap with unusually frigid temperatures afflicting Florida's Space Coast and the rest of the country have turned Crew-12's launch opportunities into an intricate dance around Artemis 2.—
Josh Dinner,
Space.com,
30 Jan. 2026
-
This intricate South Korean drama is reminiscent in tone to The Killing, the spectacularly atmospheric Danish (and later American) procedural.—
Declan Gallagher,
Entertainment Weekly,
30 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
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
-
But Choi also found a connection with her complex protagonist, the author says.—
Carly Tagen-Dye,
PEOPLE,
30 Jan. 2026
-
Any decision regarding Iran’s participation or nation exclusions would involve complex political and economic costs that extend far beyond football considerations.—
Carlos De Loera,
Los Angeles Times,
30 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
However, in recent years, expanding through acquisitions has required more sophisticated thinking and execution.—
Amelia Lucas,
CNBC,
31 Jan. 2026
-
From warm neutrals to deep earth tones, designers agree that countertops in 2026 will strike a delicate balance between sophisticated and unexpectedly playful.—
Cori Sears,
The Spruce,
30 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Byzantine.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/byzantine. Accessed 1 Feb. 2026.
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