knotty

About 0.36 uses per million words.

Meaning

1. adjective Of string or something stringlike: full of, or tied up, in knots.
2. adjective Of a part of the body, a tree, etc.: full of knots (knobs or swellings); gnarled, knobbly.

   a knotty pine

3. adjective Complicated or tricky; complex, difficult.

   a knotty problem

4. adjective Complicated or tricky; complex, difficult.

   a knotty problem

5. adjective Of an austere or hard nature; rugged.

Similar words

knotted gnarled gnarly knobbed labyrinthine crooked tortuous convoluted complex involved

Often followed by

problem problems pine point and points question questions issues

Word family

knottier knottiest knottiness knottinesses