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Mrs. Bluezette's Grammar Guide
torturous/tortuous
"Torturous" and "tortuous" both come from the Latin word
"torquere," which means "to twist." (Mrs. B's 8th grade Latin
teacher in Tullahoma, Tennessee, would be proud.)
But "torturous" means "causing torture."
v
Those first few days with a rookie TD in the control room
were TORTUROUS.
v
The men endured a grueling four-month siege in the
Philippines, a TORTUROUS death march, and three years in
horrific prison camps.
"Tortuous" means "complex, very complicated, or twisted."
v
Jean Sasson says after she made the TORTUOUS decision to
help the Saudi princess write her story, she knew she couldn't
have done anything else.
v
Our satellite truck engineer gave us a TORTUOUS explanation
of why she couldn't get the signal.
Here's a sentence using both:
v
That TORTUOUS path along the Boogerman Trail was
TORTUROUS to hike.
"Tortuous" can also mean "devious."
v
That TORTUOUS Mr. B suggested the rocky path he thought
would be TORTUROUS to Mrs. B's feet, but he forgot it would
be TORTUROUS to his, too.
Heh, heh.
