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Tortuous or torturous?
Tortuous: adjective - full of twists or turns; twisted, sinuous
or winding; not direct or straightforward; devious, circuitous.
Torturous: adjective - characterized by or involving torture; tormenting,
excruciating; figuratively - violently twisted or distorted; perverted.
The use of 'torturous' in place of
'tortuous', although more common these days, is the result of a
misunderstanding of the real meanings of these two words and should be avoided.
'The
delta of the Mississippi is full of tortuous distributaries, carrying the
waters over the flat land to the sea.'
'The
tattoo on Jodisa's leg led a tortuous path from her ankle to the place all men
desired to enter.' (That's a reference to the epic fantasy I'm writing.)
'For
Sandra, being with Michael was a torturous experience, making her wince with
his every advance and clumsy fumble.'
'The
inmates of the foreign prison were subject to torturous treatment, which left
many of them unable to stand unaided.'
A
tortuous experience winds around; a torturous one causes pain.
4 October 1911 If you use
the London Underground and travel via Earls Court, you might like to know the
first escalator opened there and is now 100 years old. I suspect they’ve
updated it since it was first installed, though.
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