labyrinth
A complicated irregular network of passages or paths in which it is difficult to find one's way; a maze.
While 'maze' often implies choices and dead ends, a classical 'labyrinth' is unicursal (a single winding path to the center), though in modern usage they are used interchangeably to represent extreme spatial or mental complexity.
Word relationships
- maze: A maze has branching paths and dead ends, while a classical labyrinth has only one winding path, though modern usage treats them as synonyms.
- web: A web implies a trapping structure designed by a predator, whereas a labyrinth is an architectural or mental puzzle.
- straightaway: A straightaway is a straight, unobstructed path with no turns or choices.
- simplicity: Simplicity represents an uncomplicated, direct structure.
Commonly confused with
- maze: A maze has branching paths and dead ends; a classical labyrinth has only one path, though modern usage treats them as synonyms.
Word family
- labyrinthine (adjective): Like a labyrinth; irregular and twisting.
Collocations
- subterranean labyrinth
- labyrinth of streets
- mental labyrinth
Example sentences
- "The streets of the old town formed a perfect labyrinth of narrow passages." A travelogue describing the complex layout of old Italian cities. (Charles Dickens, Pictures from Italy, 1846)
Memory hook
Imagine a lab where a ring (rin) is lost in a thick (th) maze of corridors (labyrinth). Think of the Minotaur waiting at the center of a dizzying maze.
When not to use
Do not use for a simple straight hallway; use when the path is dizzyingly complex or metaphorical.
Fun facts
- In medieval cathedrals, labyrinths were often tiled into the floors so worshippers could walk them as a symbolic, miniature pilgrimage.
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