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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “tortuous”

“tortuous” is pronounced /ˈtɔɹtʃəwəs/ (TAWR-chuh-wuhs) in American English and /tɔːtʃuːəs/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “tɔɹ”.
The sound

Say “tortuous” in 3 beats

Say it like this

tortuous

/ˈtɔɹtʃəwəs/

The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /tɔːtʃuːəs/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.

3 beats
  1. tɔɹtɔɹstress
  2. tʃətʃə
  3. wəswəs
IPA (American)
/ˈtɔɹtʃəwəs/
IPA (British)
/tɔːtʃuːəs/
Respelling
TAWR-chuh-wuhs
Syllables
3 — TƆɹ-tʃə-wəs
Stress
Stress the first syllable: TƆɹ-tʃə-wəs. “tɔɹ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
adjective
Difficulty
Legend — spelling and sound part company here
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˈtɔɹtʃəwəs/

British

/tɔːtʃuːəs/

No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.

Meaning

What “tortuous” means

  1. adjective

    highly complex or intricate and occasionally devious; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; - Sir Walter Scott

    “the Byzantine tax structure”

  2. adjective

    marked by repeated turns and bends

    “a tortuous road up the mountain”

  3. adjective

    not straightforward

    “his tortuous reasoning”

Say it in a sentence

“The lane is tortuous and barely wide enough for one car.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

7 sounds, in the order you say them
ttɔawɹrtʃchəschwa×2wwss

Each sound has its own page: where the tongue goes, what it is usually confused with, and words to drill it on.

Questions

“tortuous”, answered

How do you pronounce “tortuous”?

“tortuous” is pronounced /ˈtɔɹtʃəwəs/ (TAWR-chuh-wuhs) in American English and /tɔːtʃuːəs/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “tɔɹ”. Build it as TƆɹ-tʃə-wəs, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “tortuous” have?

3: tɔɹ · tʃə · wəs. The beat lands on the first, “tɔɹ”.

Is “tortuous” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˈtɔɹtʃəwəs/ (TAWR-chuh-wuhs); British English says /tɔːtʃuːəs/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “tortuous” mean?

As an adjective: highly complex or intricate and occasionally devious; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; - Sir Walter Scott For example: “the Byzantine tax structure” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “tortuous”?

Stress the first syllable: TƆɹ-tʃə-wəs. “tɔɹ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

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