Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective knotty differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of knotty are complex, complicated, intricate, and involved. While all these words mean "having confusingly interrelated parts," knotty suggests complication and entanglement that make solution or understanding improbable.

knotty ethical questions

When can complex be used instead of knotty?

The meanings of complex and knotty largely overlap; however, complex suggests the unavoidable result of a necessary combining and does not imply a fault or failure.

a complex recipe

When would complicated be a good substitute for knotty?

While the synonyms complicated and knotty are close in meaning, complicated applies to what offers great difficulty in understanding, solving, or explaining.

complicated legal procedures

When could intricate be used to replace knotty?

The words intricate and knotty are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, intricate suggests such interlacing of parts as to make it nearly impossible to follow or grasp them separately.

an intricate web of deceit

When is involved a more appropriate choice than knotty?

The words involved and knotty can be used in similar contexts, but involved implies extreme complication and often disorder.

a rambling, involved explanation

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of knotty In his crowded, knotty-pine office, several young men and women sit at desks filling out forms. Nicholas Pileggi, Curbed, 15 Aug. 2025 No sense in wasting your time on flailing around to solve a knotty problem. Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 14 Aug. 2025 This gives the roots a knotty appearance from which its common name is derived. Kim Toscano, Southern Living, 9 July 2025 United’s midfield is a knotty situation that may require two signings, but budgets may only stretch to one player. Carl Anka, New York Times, 30 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for knotty
Recent Examples of Synonyms for knotty
Adjective
  • When my father showed the then-curator of the Musée d’Horlogerie the enamels in our collection, she was blown away by the exquisite quality and intricate details of our enamels and jeweled pieces.
    Kyle Roderick, Forbes.com, 7 Sep. 2025
  • This image depicts intricate frost formations on the frozen surface of Lake Harriet during an Arctic Blast in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on January 20, 2025.
    Joe Edwards, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • The Bulls look to be the best team in the Group of Five conferences, while the Gators and coach Billy Napier are now under pressure with a difficult SEC schedule ahead.
    Erick Smith, USA Today, 8 Sep. 2025
  • Usually the final day of boot camp is most difficult.
    Gary Bedore, Kansas City Star, 8 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • The Music City Loop combines multiple complicated aspirations dreamed up by Musk, and few of them have succeeded at accomplishing the feat they were created for.
    Charles Singh, Nashville Tennessean, 5 Sep. 2025
  • The death sets off a chain of events that forces Lilian to revisit her fractured family life and complicated bond with her ex-husband.
    Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 5 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • That’s a tough dichotomy to bridge, but the new 2025 911 Carrera GTS achieves it brilliantly.
    Mark Phelan, USA Today, 7 Sep. 2025
  • The tough stainless steel loops are reinforced and designed to remain rust-free even after years of use, and a three number combination lock will be easy to remember and difficult to crack.
    Merrell Readman, Travel + Leisure, 7 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • The district has tried to be conservative on replacing items as efforts to form a fire territory complicate issues of investment and ownership.
    Shelley Jones, Chicago Tribune, 8 July 2025
  • Certainly tariffs are adding to economic uncertainty and complicate decision-making for the Federal Reserve.
    Simon Moore, Forbes.com, 17 June 2025
Adjective
  • Bella, now three and a half years old, was described by Overbye as calm, sensitive, quiet, smart, and playful.
    Lydia Patrick, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 Sep. 2025
  • Prevent this by grounding AI in your documents and adding human review for sensitive content.
    Louis Mosca, Forbes.com, 9 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • This goes up to six to eight weeks when the fracture is more complex.
    Bruce Y. Lee, Forbes.com, 11 Sep. 2025
  • In order to embolden and support his organization, bin Laden often videotaped himself with messages aimed at his target audience, established training centers in Afghanistan, had an expansive funding network that included wealthy individuals, couriers, mosques and other complex ways to raise funds.
    Richard Frankel, ABC News, 11 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Famoplay Hair Tool Travel Bag When packed, hot hair tools can quickly become a tangled mess.
    Amelia McBride, Travel + Leisure, 8 Sep. 2025
  • Directed by German-American filmmaker Sherry Hormann, this sultry Netflix thriller whisks viewers away to sunny Mallorca, Spain, where a seemingly harmless vacation turns into a tangled web of lies and betrayal.
    EW.com, EW.com, 27 Aug. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Knotty.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/knotty. Accessed 11 Sep. 2025.

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