Convoluted

3 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Convoluted \Con"vo*lu`ted\, a.
     1. Having convolutions.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              beaks recurved and convoluted like a ram's horn.
                                                    --Pennant.


        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. Folded in tortuous windings.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              A highly convoluted brain.            --North Amer.
                                                    Rev.
        [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  coiled \coiled\ (koild), adj.
     curled or wound especially in concentric rings or spirals;
     as, a coiled snake ready to strike; the rope lay coiled on
     the deck. Opposite of {uncoiled}.
  
     Note: [Narrower terms: {coiling, helical, spiral, spiraling,
           volute, voluted, whorled}; {convolute rolled
           longitudinally upon itself};{curled, curled up};
           {involute closely coiled so that the axis is
           obscured)}; {looped, whorled}; {twined, twisted};
           {convoluted}; {involute, rolled esp of petals or leaves
           in bud: having margins rolled inward)}; {wound}]
           [WordNet 1.5]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  convoluted
       adj 1: rolled or coiled together; "a convoluted shell"
       2: highly involved or intricate; "the Byzantine tax structure";
          "convoluted legal language"; "convoluted reasoning";
          "intricate needlework"; "an intricate labyrinth of refined
          phraseology"; "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" [syn: {Byzantine}, {intricate}, {involved}, {knotty},
           {labyrinthine}, {tangled}, {tortuous}]