tortuous vs. tortoise (паронимы)

Дата публикации: Jan 11, 2016 3:26:3 PM

tortuous adjective BrE /ˈtɔːtʃuəs/ ; NAmE /ˈtɔːrtʃuəs/ [usually before noun](formal)

1. (usually disapproving) not simple and direct; long, complicated and difficult to understand - неискренний, непрямой, нечестный

synonym convoluted

tortuous language

the long, tortuous process of negotiating peace

2, (of a road, path, etc.) full of bends - извилистый

synonym winding

a tortuous mountain track

Word Origin late Middle English: via Old French from Latin tortuosus, from tortus ‘twisting, a twist’, from Latin torquere ‘to twist’.

Extra examples

Her explanation was somewhat tortuous.

We went by a rather tortuous route.

Do they actually understand all the tortuous laws and regulations they have to administer?

the long, tortuous process of negotiating peace in the region

tortoise noun BrE /ˈtɔːtəs/ ; NAmE /ˈtɔːrtəs/ - a reptile with a hard round shell, that lives on land and moves very slowly. It can pull its head and legs into its shell.