Tortuous-Torturous | Commonly Confused Words

Tortuous

Having many twists and turns; complex or intricate in structure or path

The mountain path was tortuous and exhausting.Negotiations took a tortuous route to reach a deal.His tortuous arguments baffled the entire class.

/ˈtɔːtʃərəs/

Extremely painful or causing great suffering

The road to the summit was a torturous journey.Her decision led to a torturous internal conflict.Reading the dense document was mentally torturous.

Remember tortuous by associating it with twisty roads, as it's related to winding or complicated paths.
Think of torturous as something that causes torture or extreme pain, be it physically or mentally.
Tortuous has the letter U to signal U-turns or bends, which are common in winding paths.
Torturous shares a root with the word torture, hinting at its painful definition.
These words are often mixed up due to their similar spelling and pronunciation but have distinct meanings.