as in winding
marked by a long series of irregular curves
a tortuous mountain road marked by numerous hairpin turns
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Recent Examples of tortuous
Across the United States, there are key animal species – indicator species, they are sometimes called – whose own stories exemplify the tortuous path of environmental protection.
—
Stephen Hudak, The Orlando Sentinel, 4 May 2026
The 2 World Trade Center building will round out the long, tortuous redevelopment of the original 16-acre trade center property.
—CBS News, 26 Feb. 2026
Nerdy scholars, tortuous tenure tracks and college campus rivalry abounds.
—Brianne Kane, Scientific American, 13 Feb. 2026
Sharks with lower energy reserves, in contrast, exhibited more tortuous or localized movements, likely reflecting a strategy constrained by limited metabolic capacity.
—Melissa Cristina Márquez, Forbes.com, 19 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for tortuous
Stephen Hudak, The Orlando Sentinel, 4 May 2026
The 2 World Trade Center building will round out the long, tortuous redevelopment of the original 16-acre trade center property.
—CBS News, 26 Feb. 2026
Nerdy scholars, tortuous tenure tracks and college campus rivalry abounds.
—Brianne Kane, Scientific American, 13 Feb. 2026
Sharks with lower energy reserves, in contrast, exhibited more tortuous or localized movements, likely reflecting a strategy constrained by limited metabolic capacity.
—Melissa Cristina Márquez, Forbes.com, 19 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for tortuous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tortuous
Adjective
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From $561 per night. Perks: Saltwater pool and spa, king beds in all rooms, piano, fire pit At the top of a long and winding drive awaits Le Petite Retreat.—
Jessica Cherner,
Architectural Digest,
5 June 2026
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Said Rahmani often compared his life story to the plot of Paulo Coelho’s novel The Alchemist, in which a young shepherd sets off on a long and winding journey to find his treasure, only to learn that it was buried near his home all along.—
Bozorgmehr Sharafedin,
The Atlantic,
1 June 2026
Adjective
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On the giant video screens that cover the curved facade of the building were scenes of rockets being launched, orbital data centers being built, and Musk describing humanity’s future in space.—
Jeffrey Kluger,
Time,
12 June 2026
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Courtesy of the City of Orlando The area will be located behind a curved wall, screened from the main section.—
R. Daniel Foster,
Forbes.com,
12 June 2026
Adjective
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The investigation soon brings them into a twisted conspiracy theory playing out under the noses of the Planet Clitoris’ shady government.—
Wilson Chapman,
IndieWire,
12 June 2026
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Names, numbers and colors acquire a twisted symbolism.—
Julia Moore,
PEOPLE,
10 June 2026
Adjective
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Nilles was astonishing on her first-ever live performance of the song, somehow mastering its serpentine intricacies on top of the other 40 or so epics she’s absorbed.—
Brian Hiatt,
Rolling Stone,
12 June 2026
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Like a vibrantly hued snake darting down the narrow branch of a tree, the collective of high-performance automobiles rapidly navigates the narrow, serpentine artery along the Northeastern Italian coast, a quicksilver-like tracing of the border between Il Bel Paese and Slovenia.—
Viju Mathew,
Robb Report,
11 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Tortuous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tortuous. Accessed 20 Jun. 2026.
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