Convoluted

How to spell convoluted

10 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce convoluted

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does convoluted mean?

1. adjectiveExtremely complex, intricate, and difficult to follow.
2. adjectiveTwisted, coiled, or folded back on itself in shape.

Convoluted in a sentence

• The tax form had such convoluted instructions that she hired an accountant.

• The snail shell showed a tightly convoluted spiral under the microscope.

• His explanation was so convoluted that nobody in the meeting could summarise it.

• The diagram labelled the deeply convoluted folds of the brain surface.

Where does convoluted come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin verb convolvere, which combined con- (together) with volvere (to roll or to turn), so its literal sense was 'to roll up' or 'to coil together'. The past participle convolutus gave English the adjective, which first appeared in the 1700s describing things that were physically twisted, rolled, or coiled, such as the folds of the brain or the spiral of a shell. From that concrete image of something wound back on itself, the figurative meaning soon grew: an argument, plot, or process so tangled that it is hard to follow. The same volvere root still turns up in everyday relatives like 'revolve', 'evolve', and 'involve', which is a useful reminder that the tricky middle of the word is spelled v-o-l, not v-o-u or v-o-w. Holding on to the idea of something rolled together (con + volut) keeps the single l and the -uted ending in place.

How the word is built

• con- (together)
• volut (rolled, from Latin volvere: to roll)
• -ed (adjective suffix)