byzantine
Tortuously intricate, scheming
Byzantine describes something excessively complicated, with many interconnected parts that are difficult to navigate or understand: byzantine bureaucracy, byzantine tax regulations, the byzantine rules of academic publishing.
The word suggests not just complexity but labyrinthine intricacy—systems so convoluted they seem designed to confuse. (Capitalized Byzantine relates to the Byzantine Empire.)
Extremely complex and winding
- convolutedExcessively complex or twisted
- intricateElaborately detailed, many parts
- complicatedDifficult to understand
- tangledTwisted confusedly together
knotty · tortuous · serpentine · elaborate · entangled · bewildering · confounding · perplexing
Crafty and calculating
- machinationCrafty scheming, often hostile
- plottingDevising a secret plan
- conspiracyClandestine coordinated scheming
- duplicityDeliberate misleading behavior
treachery · palace intrigue · factionalism · conniving · subterfuge · maneuvering · backstabbing · power struggle
Obscure in meaning
- enigmaticPuzzling and obscure
- obscureUnknown to most
- mysteriousBeyond easy comprehension
- veiledConcealed or obscured
hidden · secretive · incomprehensible · unintelligible · nebulous · abstruse · esoteric · indecipherable
labyrinthine
Extremely complex and winding
- convolutedExcessively complex or twisted
- intricateElaborately detailed, many parts
- complicatedDifficult to understand
tangled · knotty · tortuous · serpentine · elaborate · entangled · bewildering · confounding · perplexing · impenetrable
scheming
Crafty and calculating
- machinationCrafty scheming, often hostile
- plottingDevising a secret plan
- conspiracyClandestine coordinated scheming
duplicity · treachery · palace intrigue · factionalism · conniving · subterfuge · maneuvering · backstabbing · power struggle · cloak-and-dagger
cryptic
Obscure in meaning
- enigmaticPuzzling and obscure
- obscureUnknown to most
- mysteriousBeyond easy comprehension
veiled · hidden · secretive · incomprehensible · unintelligible · nebulous · abstruse · esoteric · indecipherable · murky
- complexitycomplex, complicated, simple, intricate, easy
- Russian architectureonion domes, Kremlin, Saint Basil, golden domes, Red Square
- antique stylesgothic, medieval, baroque, renaissance, classical
- ornate thingsornate, decorative, baroque, rococo, gilded
- design stylesart deco, Art Nouveau, art nouveau, Bauhaus, minimalism
byzantinesimple
Free of complexity
straightforward · uncomplicated · basic · elementary · plain
byzantinestraightforward
Clear and uncomplicated
transparent · clear · direct · open · aboveboard
- Byzantine EmpireMedieval eastern Roman state
- Byzantine politicsConvoluted governmental scheming
- Byzantine GreekEastern Empire's literary language
- Byzantine artMedieval eastern imperial aesthetic
- Byzantine architectureEastern empire construction tradition
- Byzantine aristocracyElite of medieval Constantinople
Byzantine Greek, Byzantium, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine art, Byzantines, Byzantine architecture