labyrinth

noun

1. A complicated network of passages or paths, designed as a puzzle, in which it is difficult to find one's way.

   B2
   • "The children got lost in the corn labyrinth at the farm."A2
   • "Visitors can wander through a labyrinth of narrow streets in the old town."B1
   • "The library's stacks form a labyrinth that even seasoned researchers find confusing."C1

2. Something that is very complicated and hard to understand or deal with.

   C1

   [usually singular]formal

   • "The paperwork for the loan was a real labyrinth."B2
   • "Navigating the bureaucracy proved to be a labyrinth of regulations and exceptions."C1
   • "He found himself trapped in a labyrinth of contradictions, unable to reconstruct a coherent narrative."C2