alambiquer

Alambiquer means to overcomplicate something, typically a style of speech or writing — from alambic, the distillation still, evoking something over-refined and convoluted. It's almost always encountered as the adjective alambiqué(e) (a convoluted argument, a tortuous style) rather than in a conjugated verb form.

• Son explication était tellement alambiquée que personne n'a compris. — His explanation was so convoluted that nobody understood it.
• Inutile d'alambiquer ta réponse, sois direct. — No need to overcomplicate your answer, just be direct.
• Ce raisonnement alambiqué cache mal un manque d'arguments. — This convoluted reasoning barely conceals a lack of real arguments.

Learners rarely need the conjugated verb itself — knowing the adjective alambiqué(e), meaning needlessly complicated or convoluted, covers the vast majority of real usage.