knotty
Of string or something stringlike: full of, or tied up, in knotsOf string or something stringlike: full of, or tied up, in knots.
» Tom's cabin has knotty pine walls.
Meaning
4 sensesOf string or something stringlike: full of, or tied up, in knots.
сучкова́тыйsučkovátyj
Of a part of the body, a tree, etc.: full of knots (knobs or swellings); gnarled, knobbly.
a knotty pine
(figuratively)Complicated or tricky; complex, difficult.
a knotty problem
запу́танныйzapútannyj
(figuratively)Of an austere or hard nature; rugged.
- tangled in knots or snarls
- making great mental demands; hard to comprehend or solve or believe
- highly complex or intricate and occasionally devious
- used of old persons or old trees; covered with knobs or knots
Examples
4 sentencesTom's cabin has knotty pine walls.
It's a knotty issue.
It's a knotty problem.
ruЭто запутанная проблема.
The tree had a knotty trunk.
ruУ дерева был узловатый ствол.
Translations
4 languagesBy meaning 2
Origin
From Middle English knotti, knotty (“having a knot in it; full of knots; tied together (?)From Middle English knotti, knotty (“having a knot in it; full of knots; tied together (?); resembling a knot, knotlike; having knobs or protuberances; bulging, convex; of a tree, branch, etc.: full of knots, gnarled; of a plant cutting to be grafted or planted: full of buds or eyes; having joints (?); having swollen joints; of flesh: glandular; of flesh: granular, lumpy, especially, having many swellings; mangy, scurfy (?); having pimples (?); of cauterization: carried out on glandular tissue; (figuratively) of a question or problem: difficult, intricate”) [and other forms], from knotte (“knot; pattern of intersecting lines; coil of a snake”) (from Old English cnotta (“knot”), from Proto-Germanic *knuttô (“knot”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *gned- (“to bind”)) + -i (suffix forming adjectives from nouns). The English word may be analysed as knot + -y (suffix forming adjectives with the sense ‘having the quality of’).
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Forms
knottier/more knotty, knottiest/most knotty| Comparative | knottier / more knotty Lesson |
|---|---|
| Superlative | knottiest / most knotty Lesson |
regular
Synonyms
29 synonyms- tangled in knots or snarls:snarledsnarly
- making great mental demands; hard to comprehend or solve or believe:bafflingelusiveproblematicproblematicaltough
- highly complex or intricate and occasionally devious:Byzantineconvolutedinvolvedtangledtortuouslabyrinthine
- used of old persons or old trees; covered with knobs or knots:gnarledgnarlyknottedknobbed
Antonyms
2 antonymsWord family
5 related wordsLessons for this word
2 lessons- A2Comparatives — Because it has a comparative form
- A2Superlatives — Because it has a superlative form