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knotty (adj.)

mid-13c., "full of knots" (figurative use, of questions or problems, is attested from early 13c.), from knot (n.) + -y (2). Related: Knottiness.

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Definitions of knotty from WordNet

knotty (adj.)
making great mental demands; hard to comprehend or solve or believe;
I faced the knotty problem of what to have for breakfast
Synonyms: baffling / elusive / problematic / problematical / tough
knotty (adj.)
used of old persons or old trees; covered with knobs or knots;
Synonyms: gnarled / gnarly / knotted / knobbed
knotty (adj.)
highly complex or intricate and occasionally devious; "Oh, what a tangled web we weave"- Sir Walter Scott;
a knotty problem
Synonyms: Byzantine / convoluted / involved / tangled / tortuous
knotty (adj.)
tangled in knots or snarls;
Synonyms: snarled / snarly
From wordnet.princeton.edu