knotty

adjective

knot·​ty ˈnä-tē 

knottier; knottiest

: marked by or full of knots

especially : so full of difficulties and complications as to be likely to defy solution

a knotty problem

knottiness noun

Synonyms

• baroque
• byzantine
• complex
• complicate
• complicated
• convoluted
• daedal
• elaborate
• intricate
• involute
• involved
• labyrinthian
• labyrinthine
• sophisticated
• tangled

Choose the Right Synonym for knotty

complex, complicated, intricate, involved, knotty mean having confusingly interrelated parts.

complex suggests the unavoidable result of a necessary combining and does not imply a fault or failure.

a complex recipe

complicated applies to what offers great difficulty in understanding, solving, or explaining.

complicated legal procedures

intricate suggests such interlacing of parts as to make it nearly impossible to follow or grasp them separately.

an intricate web of deceit

involved implies extreme complication and often disorder.

a rambling, involved explanation

knotty suggests complication and entanglement that make solution or understanding improbable.

knotty ethical questions

Examples of knotty in a Sentence

the knotty problems that arise when every nation is part of the global marketplace

the candidates cautiously gave their views on an array of knotty issues

Recent Examples on the Web

But the more important issue to address also will be the knottiest politically. —The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 18 Sep. 2024

If more power is needed to cope with knotty traffic or to blitz up a highway onramp to merge with traffic streaming through Downtown LA’s Heart of Darkness where the 110, 101, 10 and 5 coalesce, the gas engine kicks in, bringing a grand total of 313 horsepower and an impressive 406 lb. —Mark Ewing, Forbes, 29 Oct. 2024

His Warriors strikes the same knotty balance between reverence and corrective reassessment as a modern Disney remake. —Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 22 Oct. 2024

That finding has several important implications, particularly for confronting the knotty question of how people might overcome the tendency to submit to malevolent authority. —Laura Niemi, Scientific American, 26 Sep. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing knotty

• knotty pine

Kids Definition

knotty

adjective

knot·​ty ˈnät-ē 

knottier; knottiest

1

: full of knots

knotty wood

2

: difficult sense 2b

a knotty problem