distort
UK /dɪsˈtɔːt/ · US /dɪsˈtoɹt/ verb, adjective
Forms distorts distorting distorted
- verb (transitive) To bring something out of shape, to misshape.
- verb (intransitive, ergative) To become misshapen.
- verb (transitive) To give a false or misleading account of; pervert. “In their articles, journalists sometimes distort the truth.”
- adjective (obsolete) Distorted; misshapen.
Synonyms
deform skew falsify garble warp twist twine contort wring tinge color colour strain
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin distortum, past participle of distorqueō (“to twist, torture, distort”).
Webster’s 1913
- adjective Distorted; misshapen. [Obs.]
- verb To twist of natural or regular shape; to twist aside physically; as, to distort the limbs, or the body.
- verb To force or put out of the true posture or direction; to twist aside mentally or morally.
Etymology [L. distortus, p. p. of distorquere to twist, distort; dis- + torquere to twist. See Torsion.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “distort”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details