byzantine

UK/bɪˈzæntaɪn//ˈbɪzəntiːn/

byzantine is the alternative letter-case form of Byzantine.

Noun (1)

byzantine (plural byzantines)

(historical) A byzant (coin).

Adjective capitalized: Byzantine

Byzantine (comparative more Byzantine, superlative most Byzantine)

Of or pertaining to Byzantium.
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.
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.
(figuratively, lowercase, often) Overly complex or intricate, especially of bureaucracy.
- 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.2014 July 1, Julia Powles, “The byzantine, meandering discussion on the future of the internet”, in The Guardian
(figuratively, lowercase, often) Rigid, unceasing, inflexible.
- 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.1978 [1976], Leszek Kołakowski, translated by P[aul] S[teven] Falla, Main Currents of Marxism, volume III: The Breakdown, Oxford: Clarendon Press, translation of Główne nurty marksizmu: rozkład (in...
(figuratively, lowercase, often) Devious and stealthy.
- 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...2016 January 26, David Robert Grimes, “On the Viability of Conspiratorial Beliefs”, in PLOS One, volume 11, number 1, page 9
- 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.2020 June 23, John Bolton, The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir, New York, N.Y.: Simon & Schuster, →ISBN, page 239
(Eastern Orthodoxy) 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.
- This was the crowning incident of our visit, and I wondered with what Byzantine ritual the Anointed One fresh from the exercise of his priestly functions would be received among his women.1920 October, Edith Wharton, In Morocco, New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, page 180
Synonyms:

Byzantiac

Noun (2) capitalized: Byzantine

Byzantine (countable and uncountable, plural Byzantines)

(historical) A native of Byzantium (modern-day Istanbul) or of the Byzantine empire
(alternative) Alternative form of byzantine (coin)
A dark, metallic shade of violet.

Synonyms of byzantine

Byzantiac

Forms of byzantine

Adjective
comparative	more byzantine
superlative	most byzantine
comparative	more Byzantine
superlative	most Byzantine
alternative form	byzantine
alternative form	Byzantian
alternative form	Byzantinan
alternative form (obsolete)	Bizantian
alternative form (obsolete)	Bizantine
Noun
plural	byzantines
plural	Byzantines

Origin of byzantine

Borrowed from Late Latin bȳzantīnus, from Bȳzantium, from Ancient Greek Βυζάντιον (Buzántion). The figurative senses evoke the reputation for palace intrigue of the Byzantine imperial court.

Words formed from byzantine

Phrases with byzantine

Words that rhyme with byzantine

48 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about byzantine

What does byzantine mean?: Byzantine means a byzant (coin).
What is byzantine the alternative letter-case form of?: Byzantine is the alternative letter-case form of Byzantine.
What part of speech is byzantine?: Byzantine can be a noun or an adjective.
How do you pronounce byzantine?: Byzantine is pronounced /bɪˈzæntaɪn/ (UK).
What is the plural of byzantine?: The plural of byzantine is byzantines.

Words near byzantine in the dictionary

Adapted from Wiktionary: byzantine (page history and authors); Byzantine (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-Byzantine.ogg, en-au-Byzantine.ogg.

Cite this entry: “byzantine.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/byzantine. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.