byzantine
/ˈbɪzəntiːn/
Frequency: 3.35 in modern English
Meaning
adj
Of or pertaining to Byzantium.
adj
Belonging to the civilization of the Eastern Roman Empire between 331, when its capital was moved to Constantinople, and 1453, when that capital was conquered by the Turks and ultimately renamed Istanbul.
adj
Of a style of architecture prevalent in the Eastern Empire down to 1453, marked by the round arch springing from columns or piers, the dome supported upon pendentives, capitals elaborately sculptured, mosaic or other encrustations, etc.
adj
Overly complex or intricate, especially of bureaucracy.
adj
adj
Of or relating to the Byzantine Rite or any of the many Eastern Orthodox churches and Greek Catholic churches that use this rite for their liturgical celebrations.
Example Sentences
- "a Byzantine system of regulations"
- "The byzantine, meandering processes of Icann are engineered in a way that avoids any dissent surfacing, all under the reassuring guise of consensus."
- "Those following what has been dubbed “Pestminster” may nevertheless struggle to keep up with the Byzantine internal reporting structures, the range of accusations being levied and the sheer number of MPs involved."
- "Novelists, poets, and film directors vied with one another in Byzantine adulation of Stalin: this reached its peak in the post-war years, but was already highly developed in the period we are considering."
- "It’s also important to note that this analysis deals solely with intrinsic failure, or the odds of a conspiracy being exposed intentionally or accidentally by actors involved—extrinsic analysis by non-participants would also increase the odds of detection, rendering such Byzantine cover-ups far more likely to fail."
- "I never went through a time when more people told me not to trust other people on an issue. Perhaps they were all right. The internal politics were byzantine, much of it played out in the media."
Etymology
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: Βυζάντιον
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈbɪzəntiːn/
- British English: /bɪˈzæntaɪn/