adjective
byzantine
BIZ-uhn-teen/ˈbɪzəntiːn/
Excessively complicated or hard to understand.
The application disappears into a byzantine maze of approval procedures.
Etymology
Originally meaning “pertaining to Byzantium,” the adjective came to evoke the complex intrigues of Constantinople’s royal court. That association underlies its use for something extremely complicated and difficult to understand.
In context
how byzantine and complicated the politics of this entire region are and how difficult it is going to be to herd these cats in this anti-isil coalition
More examples
- Their byzantine contract took days to decipher.
- He explained the company's byzantine reporting structure.
- The novel's byzantine plot involved three competing conspiracies.
Forms
byzantine
Similar words
- complicated
- A general term, while byzantine suggests excessive intricacy and indirectness.