Make Your Point > Archived Issues > TORTUOUS

Send Make Your Point issues straight to your inbox.

connect today's word to others: Tortuous means "twisty and turny." In a moment, I'll talk about how tortuous and torturous are related even though they mean totally different things. But if you're anxious about mixing them up--or if you think your listeners will hear "torturous" when you mean "tortuous"--then instead of calling something tortuous, call it...    de__ious, "morally twisty and turny: sneaky, tricky, or dishonest;"    or lab______ine, "complicated and confusing, like a tricky passage;"    or me_____ing, "winding around or winding back and forth with no purpose." Can you recall each of these? (To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.) make your point with... "TORTUOUS" "Tortuous" and its similar-looking cousin "torturous" both come from the Latin word for "a twisting, a winding." The original idea behind "torture" was to make people twist or writhe in pain. (Sorry for that horrible image.) But our main word in this issue, "tortuous," has nothing to do with pain or torture--it just means "twisty and turny." (So if you mean "painful, tormenting, unbearable, excruciating, like torture"--then be sure to include the second "r" and say "torturous.") Something tortuous is full of twists and turns, either literally or figuratively. (Tortuous things can also be indirect, sneaky, or morally crooked. But this meaning is so rarely used that we won't focus on it in this issue.) Pronunciation: TORE chew us Part of speech: Adjective. (Adjectives are describing words, like "large" or "late." They can be used in two ways: 1. Right before a noun, as in "a tortuous thing." 2. After a linking verb, as in "It was tortuous.") Other forms: tortuously, tortuousness/tortuosity How to use it: Although some kinds of twists and turns are entertaining--like in an action movie--the kind that "tortuous" describes are not great. "Tortuous" has a negative tone. Often we talk about tortuous paths, roads, routes, climbs, drives, and journeys. These can all be literal or figurative. Other things that we often call tortuous include processes and campaigns; explorations and research; stories and histories; conversations and negotiations; and arguments, analogies, reasoning, and rationalizations.  examples: Reaching the vanilla farm high up the mountain required a harrowing trip on the tortuous Paauilo Mauka Road. "In this semester, you'll collect your data, and in your last semester, you'll write up your thesis." So said my advisor, blissfully mapping out a simple path that would grow tortuous and sprawl across more semesters than I care to admit. study it now: Look away from the screen to explain the definition in your own words. You’ll know you understand what "tortuous" means when you can explain it without saying "not straight" or "circuitous." try it out: Fill in the blanks: "I'm not sure I follow _____'s tortuous line of reasoning: that if _____, then somehow _____." Example: "I'm not sure I follow the ad's tortuous line of reasoning: that if I open my pores, then somehow my face will get cleaner." before you review: Spend at least 20 seconds occupying your mind with the game below. Then try the review questions. Don’t go straight to the review now—let your working memory empty out first. Our game this month is Banishing Bland Adjectives. In each issue, we're strengthening our word-finding skills as we take aim at a vague little adjective and think up three ways to make it more specific. Resist the urge to sneak off to the thesaurus! From the previous issue: RUDE. 1. When people seem RUDE because they make funny little jokes or comments that seem slightly inappropriate, then instead of RUDE, call them _____. 2. When people seem RUDE because they have terrible manners, as if they never learned the right way to speak with people, then instead of RUDE, call them _____. 3. When people seem RUDE because they say exactly what they think without bothering to pick gentle words, then instead of RUDE, call them _____. Suggested answers: 1, cheeky; 2, coarse; 3, blunt. (Your answers might be different but just as precise.) Today: AWESOME. 1. When something is AWESOME because it makes you stand back, widen your eyes, take in a deep breath and say "whoa," then instead of AWESOME, call it _____. 2. When something is AWESOME because it totally shocks and surprises you by being so extremely good, then instead of AWESOME, call it _____. 3. When something is AWESOME because it's so good that it must have involved some kind of magic or some kind of intervention from God, then instead of AWESOME, call it _____. review today's word: 1. One opposite of TORTUOUS is A. PLEASING B. DIRECT C. MILD 2. Her tortuous analogy met with _____. A. shudders of agony B. thunderous applause C. glares and a few raised eyebrows Answers are below. a final word: Make Your Point is crafted with love and brought to you each weekday morning by Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words. From Liesl's blog:    36 ways to study words.    Why we forget words, & how to remember them.    How to use sophisticated words without being awkward. To be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com. Disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes. Answers to review questions: 1. B 2. C