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If you describe something as ambiguous, you mean that it is unclear or confusing because it can be understood in multiple ways.
If something goes awry, it does not happen in the way that was planned.
When one thing belies a second, it hides the true situation, producing a false idea or impression about that second thing.
If you describe a system or process as byzantine, it means that you are criticizing it because it is excessively complicated and difficult to understand.
Candor is the quality of being honest and open in speech or action.
A circuitous route, journey, or piece of writing is long and complicated rather than simple and direct.
If one’s powers or rights are circumscribed, they are limited or restricted.
Something convoluted, such as a difficult concept or procedure, is complex and takes many twists and turns.
If you delineate something, such as an idea or situation or border, you describe it in great detail.
A denouement is the end of a book, play, or series of events when everything is explained and comes to a conclusion.
Someone who is disingenuous is not straightforward or is dishonest in what they say or do.
When people dissemble, they hide their real thoughts, feelings, or intentions.
When something is subjected to distortion, it is twisted out of shape in some way.
Someone’s elocution is their artistic manner of speaking in public, including both the delivery of their voice and gestures.
If you embellish something, you make it more beautiful by decorating it.
When people equivocate, they avoid making a clear statement; they are deliberately vague in order to avoid giving a direct answer to a question.
To explicate an idea or plan is to make it clear by explaining it.
If an idea or thought is incisive, it is expressed in a penetrating and knowledgeable manner that is clear and brief; additionally, it can demonstrate impressive understanding of related ideas or thoughts.
People who are ingenuous are excessively trusting and believe almost everything that people tell them, especially because they have not had much life experience.
Something innocuous is not likely to offend or harm anyone.
An intricate design or problem can be both complex and filled with elaborate detail.
If you describe a situation or process as labyrinthine, you mean that it is very complicated, involved, and difficult to understand.
If someone is lucid, they are able to understand things and think clearly; this adjective also describes writing or speech that is crystal clear and easy to understand.
A mendacious person does not tell the truth.
If an object oscillates, it moves repeatedly from one point to another and then back again; if you oscillate between two moods or attitudes, you keep changing from one to the other.
An overt act is not hidden or secret but is done in an open and public way.
A patent situation is one that is wide open and unconcealed; it is both evident and obvious.
If someone is pedantic, they give too much importance to unimportant details and formal rules.
Someone who demonstrates perspicacity notices or understands things very quickly.
If you prevaricate, you avoid giving a direct or honest answer, usually because you want to hide the truth or want to delay or avoid making a hard decision.
A serpentine figure has a winding or twisting form, much like that of a slithering snake.
Something that is sinuous is shaped or moves like a snake, having many smooth twists and turns that can often be highly graceful.
Sophistry is the clever use of arguments that seem correct but are in fact unsound and misleading, used with the intent to deceive people.
If you employ subterfuge, you use a secret plan or action to get what you want by outwardly doing one thing that cleverly hides your true intentions.
Torsion is the strain produced on a body by twisting it.
Something that is unadorned is not made more attractive with ornament or decoration.
The veracity of something is its truthfulness.
Verisimilitude is something’s authenticity or appearance of being real or true.
The verity of something is the truth or reality of it.
If you waver, you cannot decide between two things because you have serious doubts about which choice is better.
Adj.
tortuous
TOHR-choo-uhs
Context
Nina’s long and tortuous journey was filled with twists and turns along the mountain road. Although Nina had noticed that her chosen route would have many bends, she had had no idea that she was in for such a tortuous or complex ride. When she had finally navigated through that winding, tortuous, and roundabout road, she felt like she too was all wound up.
Quiz:Try again!
When is something considered tortuous?
When it is so complex that it is hard to understand.
When it is unimportant and therefore boring to study.
When it is incredibly painful and difficult to endure.
Something that is tortuous, such as a piece of writing, is long and complicated with many twists and turns in direction; a tortuous argument can be deceitful because it twists or turns the truth.
Math Tortoises! The math problem was so tortuous--with many twists and false turns--that we felt as slow as tortoises while trying to solve it!
Examples
A year after Capriati won the first major of her tortuous career and established herself as a Comeback Kid for all time, her unlikely narrative continues.
—
Sports Illustrated
Best of all, when you're using an app and need something from another app, you don’t have to go through a tortuous process of closing, launching and reloading.
—
Wired
The United States has had tortuous relations with Tehran since the Islamic revolution in 1979, but the Obama message speaks of "new beginnings" with the promise of a new year.
—
CNN
The deal, reached after days of tortuous haggling, gives Mr. Clegg’s party five seats at the cabinet table and several junior ministers.
—
The Economist
Something tortuous, like a mountain road or difficult language, is “twisted, wound, or wrapped” up so as to make it complex to navigate.
Word Theater
Cosmos Carl Sagan talking about the tortuous path that began with the Big Bang and has progressed to the present day.
The panel shows a small video clip of either the word in actual use or a scene that represents the meaning of a word. This not only breaks up the monotony of studying words but also provides another avenue to strengthen word meaning. Enjoy!
