sinuous

adjective

sin·​u·​ous ˈsin-yə-wəs 

-yü-əs

1

a

: of a serpentine or wavy form : winding

b

: marked by strong lithe movements

2

: intricate, complex

sinuously adverb

sinuousness noun

Did you know?

Although it probably makes you think more of snakes than head colds, sinuous is etymologically more like sinus than serpent. Sinuous and sinus both derive from the Latin noun sinus, which means "curve, fold, or hollow." Other sinus descendants include insinuate ("to impart or suggest in an artful or indirect way") and two terms you might remember from math class: sine and cosine. In English, sinus is the oldest of these words; it entered the language in the 1400s. Insinuate appeared next, in the early 1500s, and was followed by sinuous and sine in the latter half of the 1500s, and cosine in the 1600s. Serpent, by the way, entered English in the 13th century and comes from the Latin verb serpere, meaning "to creep."

Synonyms

• bending
• crazy
• crooked
• curled
• curling
• curved
• curving
• curvy
• devious
• serpentine
• tortuous
• twisted
• twisting
• winding
• windy

Examples of sinuous in a Sentence

She moved with sinuous grace.

the river flowed in a sinuous path through the lush valley

Recent Examples on the Web

The farm town of Dixon, population 19,000, made its mark in mazes about 20 years ago — about the time corn mazes began to take off across the U.S. thanks to new computer programming that helps farmers plot out massive labyrinths with a sinuous web of passageways. —Tribune News Service, The Mercury News, 19 Oct. 2024

Above this verse by Ralph Thomas Ward winds a single sinuous line, tracing two male silhouettes united in the prelude to a kiss or a tender tête-à-tête. —Ara H. Merjian, ARTnews.com, 4 Oct. 2024

Their sinuous design was also tweaked with colored stones in rings and bangles intended to be playfully stacked as in the brand’s signature approach. —Sandra Salibian, WWD, 3 Oct. 2024

The packaging is made of translucent glass, with a fluid and sinuous shape. —Sofia Viganò, Vogue, 2 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Latin sinuosus, from sinus

First Known Use

1578, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

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Kids Definition

sinuous

adjective

sin·​u·​ous ˈsin-yə-wəs 

: of a snakelike or wavy form : winding

sinuously adverb