9 Commonly Confused Pairs_7

Tortuous

[tawr-choo-uhs]

Mixing up these words can have some very unpleasant results. When something is tortuous, it's full of twists and turns like a crooked path or a circuitous argument. The word comes from the Latin tortu meaning "a twisting." But the addition of an "r" turns this word into torture, with torturous pertaining to the cause or experience of extreme pain.
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tortuous

ˈtɔːtʃʊəs,-jʊəs/

adjective

adjective: tortuous

1. full of twists and turns.

   "the route is remote and tortuous"

   synonyms:

   twisting, winding, curving, curvy, bending, sinuous, undulating, coiling,looping, meandering, serpentine, snaking, snaky,  zigzag, convoluted,spiralling, twisty, circuitous, rambling,  wandering, indirect, deviating,devious, labyrinthine, mazy; rareanfractuous, flexuous "the road follows a tortuous route"

   antonyms:

   straight

   • excessively lengthy and complex.

     "a tortuous argument"

     synonyms:

     convoluted, roundabout, circuitous, indirect, unstraightforward, involved, complicated, complex, confusing, lengthy, overlong, verbose,difficult to follow "a tortuous argument"

     antonyms:

     straightforward

Origin

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

ˈtɔːtʃ(ə)rəs/

adjective

adjective: torturous

1. characterized by, involving, or causing pain or suffering.

   "a torturous five days of fitness training"

Origin

late 15th century: from Anglo-Norman French, from torture ‘torture’.