Byzantine

1 of 2

adjective

Byz·​an·​tine ˈbi-zᵊn-ˌtēn 

ˈbī-,

-ˌtīn;

bə-ˈzan-ˌtēn,

bī-ˈzan- 

1

: of, relating to, or characteristic of the ancient city of Byzantium

Byzantine art

2

architecture : of, relating to, or having the characteristics of a style of architecture developed in the Byzantine Empire especially in the fifth and sixth centuries featuring the dome carried on pendentives over a square and incrustation with marble veneering and with colored mosaics on grounds of gold

3

Christianity : of or relating to the churches using a traditional Greek rite and subject to Eastern (see eastern sense 2) canon law

4

often not capitalized

a

: of, relating to, or characterized by a devious and usually surreptitious manner of operation

a Byzantine power struggle

b

: intricately involved : labyrinthine

rules of Byzantine complexity

Byzantine

2 of 2

noun

: a native or inhabitant of Byzantium

Did you know?

Byzantine, a Word for History Buffs

Today, the city that lies on the Bosporus Strait in Turkey is named Istanbul, but it was once known as Constantinople (a name given to it when it became the capital of the Byzantine Empire, aka the eastern half of the Roman Empire), and in ancient times, it was called Byzantium. Its history is legendary—filled with mystics, wars, and political infighting—and over time the word Byzantine (from the Late Latin word Byzantinus, the name for a native of Byzantium) became synonymous in English with anything characteristic of the city or empire, from architecture to intrigue. The figurative sense used to describe that which is intricately involved and not easily understood first appeared in the early 20th century.

Synonyms

Adjective

• baroque
• complex
• complicate
• complicated
• convoluted
• daedal
• elaborate
• intricate
• involute
• involved
• knotty
• labyrinthian
• labyrinthine
• sophisticated
• tangled

Examples of Byzantine in a Sentence

Adjective

spent his first year at the Pentagon just trying to fathom its byzantine workings

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

Image Charles Ede will show 70 objects at its booth this year, the priciest being an $850,000 Roman marble torso of a youth, and the most affordable being a Byzantine silver spoon (from the 4th to the 6th century B.C.) priced at $2,000. —Farah Nayeri, New York Times, 1 May 2025

Zanini pointed out that as mandates are added and new positions are created, organizations become more Byzantine, full of overlapping, competing rules. —William Melhado, Sacbee.com, 30 Apr. 2025

The actual burial, next to a chapel containing a famed Byzantine icon painting of the Madonna and child, was closed to the public. —Aryn Baker, Time, 26 Apr. 2025

Over the course of the millennium, the peninsula was part of the Greek, Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman empires, it was invaded by Mongols and fought over by Venice and Genoa. —Ivana Kottasová, CNN Money, 25 Apr. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1651, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

1651, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for Byzantine

• acridine
• alkaline
• andesine
• anodyne
• anticline
• arginine
• asinine
• atropine
• benzidine
• borderline
• calamine
• caroline

Podcast

Get Word of the Day delivered to your inbox!

Kids Definition

Byzantine

1 of 2 noun

Byz·​an·​tine ˈbiz-ən-ˌtēn  bə-ˈzan- 

ˈbīz-ən-;

ˈbiz-ən-ˌtīn

: a person born or living in Byzantium or in the Byzantine Empire

Byzantine

2 of 2 adjective

1

: of, relating to, or typical of Byzantium or the Eastern Roman Empire

2

: of or relating to a style of architecture developed in the Byzantine Empire especially in the 5th and 6th centuries characterized by a central dome over a square space and by much use of mosaics