knotty

[ not-ee ]

adjective

, knot·ti·er, knot·ti·est.

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

Derived Forms

• ˈknottily, adverb
• ˈknottiness, noun

Other Words From

• knotti·ly adverb
• knotti·ness noun
• un·knotty 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

The design — knotty pine floors, swirling ceiling fans, touches of pale blue — strikes just the right tone without screaming “CRAB HOUSE.”

From Washington Post

Inside, you’ll get knotty pine walls and a renovated farm-style kitchen.

From Outside Online

It involved a geometric object called the amplituhedron that had been proposed as the answer to one of the knottiest problems in physics.

From Quanta Magazine

Nebraska just lost a knotty one at Iowa and complained its center struggled with snaps because of clapping from the Iowa sideline.

From Washington Post

Also in this content collection, get help untangling some of AI’s newest, and knottiest, concepts.

From MIT Technology Review

For anyone looking to dive into the big, knotty history of one of the most iconic states, this book is well worth the time.

From The Daily Beast

The profession remains a knotty tangle of influences and causations and aggravations and insurers.

From The Daily Beast

Think of it merely as another knotty problem of logistics to be solved.

From The Daily Beast

Our nicely worked out system for supplying the troops has in a moment been tangled up into a hundred knotty problems.

From Project Gutenberg

The Cuban debts and the future of the Philippines were really the knotty points in the entire debate.

From Project Gutenberg

De Robeck and Keyes came over from the Triad to unravel knotty points.

From Project Gutenberg

His envoys had proposed to refer the knotty point to the decision of His Holiness; but 'this they absolutely declined.'

From Project Gutenberg

Landy Spencer drummed his knotty fingers on the armchair and looked thoughtfully at the old Nestor seated at his fireside.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• complicated
• mystifying
• perplexing
• puzzling
• sticky
• thorny
• tricky