labyrinthine
- Resembling a labyrinth in complexity or intricacy; extremely complicated and difficult to navigate.
- Of or relating to the labyrinth of the inner ear.
In a sentence
- The city's labyrinthine alleyways confused even the most seasoned tourists.
- She struggled to navigate the labyrinthine bureaucracy of the tax office.
Usage note. Pronunciation challenge: the '-thine' ending is pronounced '-thin' (not '-thyne'), and the stress falls on the third syllable 'RIN'.
Where it comes from
English labyrinthine — “maze-like, intricate” · entered English 17th c.
Derived from Greek 'labyrinthos', a word of possibly pre-Greek (Minoan) origin referring to the legendary maze of Crete built by Daedalus. It passed through Latin 'labyrinthus' before the adjectival form 'labyrinthine' entered English in the 17th century. Source: Etymonline, Oxford English Dictionary.