knotty

[not-ee]

adjective

knottier, knottiest 

1. having knots; knot; full of knots: knot.

   a knotty piece of wood.

2. involved, intricate, or difficult.

   a knotty problem.

   Synonyms: complicated, complex

knotty

/ ˈnɒtɪ /

adjective

1. (of wood, rope, etc) full of or characterized by knots

2. extremely difficult or intricate

Other Word Forms

• knottily adverb
• knottiness noun
• unknotty adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of knotty¹

First recorded in 1200–50, knotty is from the Middle English word cnotti. See knot ¹, -y ¹

Example Sentences

Knox comprehends how knotty the process of reconciling with an ending that differs from what we want can be.

From Salon

What constitutes romance is different for everyone, and when you get to the matter of love itself, issues become even more knotty.

From Salon

There’s a comprehensiveness to how “We Are Guardians” lays out a big, knotty problem of environment, politics, geography and business — internationalized yet hyper-local — while spotlighting the Indigenous push-back efforts.

From Los Angeles Times

But that’s one episode — one and a half, if we treat “Plaything” as the preamble to a robust and morally knotty drama about humanity’s next stage of evolution — out of half a dozen.

From Salon

The singer's infectious energy and knotty pop-rock songs have been picking up new fans in every city.

From BBC

Related Words

• complicated 
• mystifying www.thesaurus.com
• perplexing 
• puzzling 
• sticky 
• thorny 
• tricky