byzantine
adj.adj. describing something that is extremely complicated, confusing, and hard to understand. You use this when a system or rule has too many small details.
adj. characterized by excessive complexity, intricate detail, or unnecessary complication. Often used pejoratively to describe administrative systems, legal structures, or organizational hierarchies.
The tax laws are too byzantine for most people.
The company's byzantine approval process delayed the project launch by three months.
Scholars often criticize the byzantine syntax of medieval legal documents, noting how their convoluted phrasing obscures rather than clarifies the original intent.
From Late Latin byzantinus, from Byzantium, from Ancient Greek Βυζάντιον (Buzántion). The figurative senses evoke the reputation for palace intrigue of the Byzantine imperial court.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Capitalized when referring to the Byzantine Empire or its history; lowercase when used metaphorically for complexity.
The rules are very byzantine.The rules are byzantine.Byzantine is a non-gradable adjective; it is rarely modified by 'very' or 'quite'.
Last updated May 4, 2026