knotty, adj.
(knottier, knottiest)
freq. cnt. 1
(knottier, knottiest)
freq. cnt. 1
making great mental demands; hard to comprehend or solve or believe
<adj.all> freq. cnt.: 2 freq. cnt.: 1 freq. cnt.: 1
baffling elusive knotty problematic problematical tough
sample sentences
"a baffling problem""I faced the knotty problem of what to have for breakfast"
"a problematic situation at home"
lexical pointers
derivationally related form
lexical pointers
derivationally related form
lexical pointers
derivationally related form
lexical pointers
derivationally related form
semantic pointers
similar to
tangled in knots or snarls
<adj.all>
knotty snarled snarly
sample sentences
"a mass of knotted string""snarled thread"
lexical pointers
derivationally related form
semantic pointers
similar to
highly complex or intricate and occasionally devious
<adj.all> freq. cnt.: 4 freq. cnt.: 2 freq. cnt.: 2
Byzantine convoluted involved knotty tangled tortuous
sample sentences
"the Byzantine tax structure""Byzantine methods for holding on to his chairmanship"
"convoluted legal language"
"convoluted reasoning"
"the plot was too involved"
"a knotty problem"
"got his way by labyrinthine maneuvering"
"Oh, what a tangled web we weave"- Sir Walter Scott
"tortuous legal procedures"
"tortuous negotiations lasting for months"
lexical pointers
derivationally related form
lexical pointers
derivationally related form
semantic pointers
similar to
used of old persons or old trees; covered with knobs or knots
<adj.all>
gnarled gnarly knobbed knotted knotty